Mrs.Humphries’s General Physical Science classes competed in a wheel and axle car building contest. “They have to make something that will roll after one hot breath,” says Humphries. Students assembled their cars using a combination of straws for support or axles, paper to act as a ‘kite’, tape to bind it all together, and lifesavers for wheels. In preparation for the race, teams of two to four members spent several weeks studying the functions of motion, including how forces work on each other, how friction acts on forces and how inertia works on objects.
After a day of testing cars one stood out above the others, a cute little taped together auto by freshmen team Emily Pearson, Gracie Baxter and Bailee Rodgers. Their car managed to travel an impressive 14 feet. “It was interesting building the car,” “We didn’t really know what to do so we just went with it,” says Baxter.
