Those challenges include making the car go ten meters, keeping the wheels straight, and figuring out how to power it. One requirement of our car was that it had to be powered by a rubber band using elastic potential energy. My group could not figure out how to attach our rubber band to the car. We thought about using a propeller but then realized that it wouldn’t take the car the ten meters. We then realized that if we winded it around the axle, the car would go farther. In the end, we attached the rubber band to two nails and wound in around the axle. Another problem was keeping the wheels straight so that the car wouldn’t turn. Our wheels were originally straight but after testing the car a bunch of times, the wheels became crooked. That made the car slower, and more wobbly. We had to unattach the wheels and glue them on straight again. My group also faced the problem of making it go the full ten meters. From the start, the car went about eight meters and then stopped. We came to the realization that we needed to take some weight off of the car. Too much weight makes it hard for the car to move in the first …show more content…
A toy maker could use this information when making a toy that is elastic or is powered by some sort of rubber band. They would have to take the knowledge of the elastic potential energy and convert it into the planning of the toy. If not, the toy may not work correctly. Elastic potential energy is also found in a bow and arrow. Someone who makes, or uses bow and arrows would have to understand how they work in order to work with them. When the string is pulled back, the energy builds up. When released, it converts the elastic potential energy to kinetic energy to send the arrow flying