Hawt+Wheels+Jump

The Pontiac Firebird used for all testing.


 * Lab Title:** Hawt Wheels Jump


 * Primary Authors:** Ryan and Carson


 * Contributing Authors:** Also Ryan and Carson
 * Abstract:** To find the correlation between starting height and the horizontal distance a car goes down a ramp. Then from a certain height, predict where the car will land.
 * Introduction: ** Inclined planes and projectiles

In order to get consistent data, a 134cm hot wheels track was set up and taped to a silver beam. This made sure that the track did not shift at all during the testing, which would severely skew the results. The same car was also used, in order to be as consistent as possible. The decline of the slope was approximately 40 degrees. The ramp, measuring 12cm on the hypotenuse, was 55 degrees above the horizontal. In order to find the necessary correlation, different heights had to be measured, because each different vertical height would change the horizontal distance. This was done three times, from heights of 80cm, 40cm, and 20cm.
 * Methods:** In order to be able to accurately predict the horizontal distance traveled by the car after being dropped from a pre-determined vertical height, it was necessary to run trials where the horizontal distance was recorded, using three different vertical heights. It was also necessary to analyze the data we collected, in order to find the initial velocity, and vertical and horizontal components.

Mass of car: 37 g Angle of Downward Slope: 40 degrees Angle of Ramp: 55 degrees Length of track: 134 cm (1.34 m  The Entire Track The Ramp


 * Results:** Below is the data collected from the lab, which was only the horizontal distance and vertical height. During the actual lab, this was the only information that was necessary to collect.

Trial One: Height of ramp: 80 cm (.8 m) How far it went: 90 cm (.9 m)

Trial Two: Height of ramp: 40 cm (.4 m) How far it went: 38.5 cm (.385 m)

Trial Three: Height of ramp: 20 cm (.2 m) How far it went: 9.6 cm (.096 m)

However, after the actual "lab" part of the lab was finished, it was necessary to, using the kinematic equations, figure out the Velocity initial for each trial, in order to find a good average one, which could then be applied to find the horizontal distance from a set vertical height. Since the car turned into a projectile right after launching off the ramp, it was only a process of using the kinematic equations to find the data needed. Trial One: Velocity Initial: 97 cm/s Time:.93 seconds

Trial Two: Velocity Initial: 43.56 cm/s Time: .866 seconds

Trial Three: Velocity Initial: 30.8 cm/s Time: .31 seconds

Now, after having all the necessary information, it was possible to form a correlation between the starting height and the velocity initial. That number was approximately .797. At this part, 60 cm was decided on as the height up the ramp to drop the car from, with 42.91 cm as the theoretical horizontal distance. The velocity initial that was expected was 47.834 cm/s, with it taking an approximate .894 seconds to go from the top of the ramp to that initial landing. When actually ran, the car ended up overshooting that 42.91 cm by an astounding amount. In actuality, the car ended up going 57.75 cm, almost exactly.

through the air.
 * Conclusion:** Throughout the entire lab, many errors, albeit small, could have taken place. The percent error between our theoretical distance and the actual distance was close to 34.6%, which while not quite as high as it could have been, is still much too high for us. During the testing phase, it is possible that our measuring methods were off or skewed, with no real "0" reference point. That would have differed the results greatly, resulting in a faulty correlation. It is also possible that the ramp itself shifted throughout the testing process, as bumps were inevitable, and even with extreme caution it would get off track fairly easily. However, most of the error most likely happened during the analysis phase of the lab. While the kinematic equations used were correct, and the data taken was fairly consistent, rounding and false measurements quickly skewed the entire process, starting a domino effect of sorts. It ended with the calculations of the final test, which were very wrong. When done again, many things could he done differently in order to prevent such drastic error. Better, more accurate measurements could be taken to insure that the distance traveled is really the distance traveled. Also, having another person double check ALL work done by the other can make sure no stupid rounding mistakes take place, as they are fatal in those calculations. Even with the error however, a lot was still learned about projectiles, inclined planes, and Hot Wheel cars flying