Mouse+Trap+Project

Mouse Trap Project

Day 1: First, a gear rolls down a wooden board, and hits another gear that rolls further down the board. It hits another gear that is sitting at the end of the board. The last gear hits another wheel that is sitting at the top of a small wooden ramp. It rolls and hits an exhaust pipe that is balanced on a crankshaft. The pipe spins 180 degrees and hits a nail. The nail spins and hits another nail and it rolls and hits another nail which falls off the end of the hood. The nail hits a spark plug which releases a dip stick that was stuck partially in the engine. It springs forward and hits the radiator. The radiator falls and hits a tire, which rolls and hits another tire that is sitting at the bottom of a ramp. The tire rolls up the ramp and hits another tire which hits the fourth tire. The last tire hits a rotary wheel which is attached to a string falls and the weight pulls up a car seat thats on the other end of the string. The head rest on the seat hits a wind shield wiper on a zip line.The wiper spins down the zip line and hits a can of oil. The oil falls over and pours onto a glass windshield with 4 metal balls on one side. The weight of the oil makes the windshield tip down, which makes the balls roll off into 4 cylinders on an engine block. Its balanced on a board that flips up and turns on a battery. The battery sends voltage to the engine block to start the fan which blows and moves across the floor. The fan runs into a pole. Wire with bolts on the top of the pole fall to the floor. The wire hits an oil can off a ramp and it roll across the floor. The can hits a piston part that releases another piston. It falls on a swing that launchs a small ball into the air. It flies and hits a tire that is sitting on the top of the front half of a car. The tire rolls onto a belt, the tire pulls the belts down which. The first wrench hits a small wrench, which n rotates and hits a hollow cylindrical piece of metal. The cylinder rolls in to a larger wrench which rotates and hits the back of the cylinder propelling in even further. The cylinder hits a car window, which in response opens the window. The cylinder continues to roll through the opened window. It then rolls on to a set of what looks like car door handle. The handles gentle set the cylinder onto a battery. The cylinder completes the connection on the battery, and then the battery activates a hose like mechanism that shoots water. The water lands on a car windshield that automatically activates the windshield wipers. The wipers slowly move into a tall thin pipe. The pipe falls in to window that is suspended in the air with a string. The window moves and fans air toward a piece of metal. The metal is then knocked over, and it pushes a small cylinder into the car shocks. The shocks had another small cylinder at the top. The cylinder then twists down the shocks due to the vibration of impact. The small cylinder hits a battery completing a connection. The battery then starts a cars dashboard. The radio is activated on the dashboard. The sound waves then roll a shock off of a windshield. The shock then hits a mechanism that pushes the button on a key that closes the trunk of a car. The force of the trunk closing pushes the car off a ramp. The car then rolls over a string that pulls a flag down.

Day 2: We got our two mousetraps and tried to come up with a design that would would move like a car and also shoot a ping pong ball like a catapult. The main problem is how to get the car moving with the power of the mousetrap. I think we will need to have one of the mousetrap upside down so it can push off the ground to get the car rolling. We are going to put lego tires on the sides so it rolls easier. I did some research on mousetrap car kits and most of them use an arm and string that pulls the rear axle to make the car move.

Day 3: We researched more mousetrap cars and came up withe a design for our car. The car is going to have an arm that's attached to the bar on the mousetrap. The end of the arm will have a string tied to it that is wrapped around the back axle of the car. When the mousetrap is set off the arm will pull the string and spin the back wheels to get the car moving. We decided the car will have CDs for wheels instead of lego tires. The last part of the project is the car must move 10 m to shoot the ping pong ball. I think if the arm and string is long enough the car will be able to go 10 m.

Day 4: Today we attached 2 CD wheels onto the body of the car which is 4 rulers taped together. The holes for the axles are the holes in the ruler. The wheels are lego rims with a CD as the tire. I also tied a piece of string around the back axle to spin it wen the trap goes off.

Day 5: Today we put the last 2 CD wheels onto the car. The string on the axle was glued to the axle and the we used a stick for the arm that will pull the string. The arm was tied to the bar that flips forward. Levi tied the 2 side rulers together to make sure they are solid and don't cause the car to shake when its rolling. The pictures of the car are on Levi's log book.

Day 6: Today I researched different types of mousetrap catapults that can launch a ping pong ball. It's going to be a spoon taped to the bar. We tested if the car had enough power to get 10 m. After testing we decided the CD wheels didn't work so we are going to use lego wheels and make a new body for the car.