Rubber Band Car

What are Rubber Band Cars: Rubber band cars are wind up cars that use rubber bands to propel the car forward.

Supplies:

• 2 popsicle sticks

• 2 toothpicks

• 1 wooden skewer

• A straw

• Hot glue (tape works but it might be tricky)

• Rubber band

• 4 bottle caps

Steps:

1. Put the two popsicle sticks together to form a V shape; connect the ends with hot glue

2. Cut a toothpick in half and glue it to the point of the V

3. Cut the straw into 3 pieces (not the bendy part). The three pieces should be 2 inches and 2, 1 inch pieces

4. Glue the longest straw piece onto the point of the V created by the popsicle sticks

5. Glue the shortest straw pieces onto both ends of the V

6. Take the toothpick or skewer and puncture a hole straight through the center of all the bottle caps

7. Insert the toothpick through the longest straw piece at the point of the V

8. Insert the skewer connecting both shorter straws

9. Place the wheels on the ends of the toothpick and skewer (now you have a car!)

10. In the middle of a skewer place glue the other half of the toothpick from part 2

11. Attach the rubber band to connect the toothpicks from parts 2 and 10

Try your car by spinning the wheels backwards and let it go!

How the Rubber Band Car Works:

Have you ever stretched a rubber band and flung it across the room? When you stretch a rubber band, the rubber band stores a lot of energy. This energy is called potential energy or stored energy. Think of it like this, potential energy is energy that has the potential or is capable of doing something. As you stretch the rubber band more and more, the rubber band is storing more and more potential energy.

When you let the rubber band go, all of this potential energy has to go somewhere. The energy is so excited it decides to transform into kinetic energy or the energy of motion. Now the rubber band has kinetic energy and is moving across the room to your target.

Similarly, when you wind up your car the rubber band keeps on stretching around the skewer. This stores a lot of potential energy. When you release the car the rubber band transforms the potential energy into kinetic energy. The rubber band spins the back wheels and 

The more you stretch the rubber band, the more potential energy is stored, and the farther and faster the car should go.