Information on Mouse Trap Cars

Car Body

• A basic mousetrap car can be built by drilling small holes through the trap's wooden sides, inserting axles into the holes and slipping wheels onto the axles. For a more elaborate set-up, affix the trap to the top of a toy car or other small wheeled item. Alternatively, mount the mousetrap on a bare, wheeled frame rather than a body. Make sure that the mousetrap is securely fastened to whatever base you choose.

Wheels

• Discarded CDs or DVDs, plastic or rubber toy car wheels or small, round metal, plastic or wooden items all make suitable wheels for a mousetrap car. Rubber bands can be wrapped around the wheels to give the tires a tread of sorts for a better grip on the driving surface.

Propulsion

• Attach one end of a length of string to the mousetrap's movable snap arm. Loop the other end of the string around the axle and turn the wheels in the opposite direction you want the car to go. Continue to roll the wheels until the string is tightly wrapped around the axle and the snap arm is pulled back as far as possible. Set the car on the driving surface and let go of the wheels. As long as the string releases from the axle correctly, the mousetrap car will shoot forward.

Driving Surfaces

• Driving surfaces should be level and even or the mousetrap car may not roll as desired. Uneven surfaces such as tile floors, embossed linoleum or piled carpets will directly affect the car's speed. A tabletop makes a suitable mousetrap car racetrack, as does a smoothly paved surface. Students who build mousetrap cars in class can race their cars, setting up tracks they design especially for the activity.

Mechanical Engineering Applications

• Some mechanical engineering classes use mousetrap cars to teach students about distance, velocity, time and acceleration. Students use stopwatches to determine the rate of speed and the time it takes for the mousetrap car to travel as far as it can. The materials used in the car's construction, the overall design and the effects of friction on the mousetrap car's performance are also considered. The assimilated data helps students learn about physics and the basic principles of mechanical engineering.