Questions
-
What force powered your underwater vehicle? Explain.
(Gravity. As the weight dropped, it pulled the car
across the trough.)
- How
did the shield you added to the car affect its original
speed? How does the attachment point affect the performance?
(It slowed the car down. The shield needs to be firmly
attached or it may break loose from the resistance.)
- How
did adding a plow-like blade to the vehicle affect its
movement? Why?
(It increased the speed by allowing the car shape to
cut through the water more efficiently.)
- Did
adding the extra weight of the clay improve or reduce
the speed of the car? Explain.
(Answers may vary, depending on the size of the lump
of clay and the effectiveness of the bullet shape.)
Critical
Thinking
Do
you think that the car, without the plow-like blade, would
have moved faster if it was moving through air instead of
water? How would streamlining have affected the car in this
case? Explain.
(Yes. Since air is less dense than water, it will present
less resistance to movement and the car will move faster.
Streamlining would increase the speed even further in air
as well as water.)
