Topic 1.3: Nerf Car Racing Lab — Which Car Can You Bet On?
Names (team of 4): _______________________________________________ Date: _______________
Quick Recap
Back in Topic 1.2, Session 2, we learned average velocity = displacement ÷ time. Today we're using that formula for real, with real cars, and real (imperfect) measurements.
The Question We're Testing
Which of our two cars is reliably faster — not just "which one won once," but which one wins consistently across multiple runs?
Prediction (write this BEFORE you start racing)
Which car do you predict will be faster, and why (looks, weight, wheels — whatever your reasoning is)? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________
Materials
- 2 Nerf cars (Nerf Nitro foam cars) + 1 launcher
- Masking tape, meter stick
- Stopwatch or phone (video/slow-motion)
- Flat track marked in 0.5 m intervals out to 3.0 m
What To Do
- Mark your starting line and distance intervals (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 m) using the meter stick.
- Launch Car A from the same starting point each time — never hand-push it.
- Time the car passing each mark (stopwatch clicks or video timestamps).
- Run Car A 4 times, recording all 4 trials.
- Repeat steps 2-4 for Car B.
- Rotate jobs (launcher, timer, recorder, mark-checker) between trials so everyone gets each role at least once.
Data Table — Car A
| Distance (m) | Trial 1 (s) | Trial 2 (s) | Trial 3 (s) | Trial 4 (s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 | ||||
| 1.0 | ||||
| 1.5 | ||||
| 2.0 | ||||
| 2.5 | ||||
| 3.0 |
Data Table — Car B
| Distance (m) | Trial 1 (s) | Trial 2 (s) | Trial 3 (s) | Trial 4 (s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 | ||||
| 1.0 | ||||
| 1.5 | ||||
| 2.0 | ||||
| 2.5 | ||||
| 3.0 |
Quick Check (before you leave lab today)
Based only on today's data, which car looks faster right now? _________________ How many trials is that based on? _________________ (We'll do the full analysis, graphing, and final verdict tomorrow — hang onto this sheet!)