Norwood High School

Problem Statement:
Research and Design Teams (no more than 3 students) will design, construct, and test a vehicle that uses a standard mousetrap as its power source to go the longest distance possible.

Materials:
Standard Mousetrap, wheels, axles, string, and other common household materials.

You must use only one standard mousetrap. Design parameters are open -- Use your CREATIVITY! All the energy for the car must be obtained from the spring of an ordinary mousetrap. The spring may be removed from the original trap and remounted on the car in some other way so as to provide more efficient energy storage and release. It may also be wound tighter or looser than it was originally, and the ends of the spring may be bent if necessary to provide a more secure mounting. Only ONE spring may be used in the vehicle. MTPV design must be from scratch -- not mounted to another chassis. All the parts of the trap must be used somewhere in the vehicle.

The trap may be entirely disassembled and each of the parts remounted separately in the car. They can be mounted upside down, right side up, sideways on edge, diagonally, or askew, but the pieces (except for the spring) cannot be distorted, bent, cut, or twisted from the original shape. The wooden base, and the length of the car (including wheels) can be no more than 3 times the width of the base, and the length of the car (including wheels) can be no more than 3 times the length of the base. There is no upper limit on the height or mass for the vehicle, in case of a tie less, weight scores higher.

The car must start from a standstill, with its wheels on the track. It will be held in position by hand then released on signal. The car is to function as a car, with the energy of the spring being used to make the car roll on its wheels. It is not to be launched by the spring so that it acts as a projectile. Also, there may be no launch devices to give the car an initial boost. Remember -- you are designing a vehicle to go the greatest distance.

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