THE

GREAT

CROW

RACE CAR

PROJECT

Table of contents

Overview and Objectives ……………………….. page 3 - 5

Phase One – Pre-Design ………………………….. page 6 – 8

Phase Two – Design ………………………………… pages 9 – 12

Phase Three – Building ……………………………. Pages 13 – 15

Phase Four – Testing ……………………………….. pages 16– 17

Phase Five – Revision ……………………………….. Pages 18 – 19

Phase Six – Race Day …………………………………. Pages 20 - 22

THE GREAT CROW RACE CAR PROJECT

On your marks! Get set, Do Math!!! Yes, it’s the amazing math-based, racing project we’ve all

been waiting for!! Here are the particulars.

Students will scale, draw, and build a model race car of their own design.

They will test their car and record the results. The official ramp will be available for testing only

after all building and record keeping has been completed.

They will then revise their car to make it go faster.

They will re-test their car and record the results. The official ramp will be available for testing

only after all building and record keeping has been completed.

All cars will compete in a direct (or semi-direct) elimination tournament. Prizes will be

awarded. Cars will be judged on many different criteria – fastest, best design, most economical,

most colorful, best effort, over-coming most severe adversity…. and the like.

The Project will be divided (because it is a division unit) into six phases.

Phase One –Car Pre-design

Students will measure or research real life car dimensions and

convert them to the required scale model.

Phase Two – Car Design

Students will create a multi-view scale drawing of their car

design. This drawing will be used in the building phase.

Phase Three - Building the Car

Students will construct scale model cars. The process of

building will take place in the classroom over four days.

Student will “buy” materials to use and keep track of expenses.

They will keep a “Builder’s Log” in which notes will be taken

regarding design and building challenges, as well as finances.

Part Four – Testing the Car

Students will make test runs of their cars down a ramp and

calculate average speed, and distance. They will also keep note

about the performance of the car for revising their work later.

Part Five - Design Revision

Students will select one area of design to alter. Students will

test design changes to find best solution. A revision log will

be kept in order to assure quality.

Part Six - Final Races.

Students will compete in races. Winners will be determined by

averages of runs. This could be expanded to various tracks, or

other competitions. They will continue to keep track of speed,

and other stats. A final report will evaluate the cars overall

performance.

OBJECTIVES:

MATH -

5NBT.6 - find quotients of numbers up to four digits with two digit

divisors.

5MD.1 - convert measurements within a measurement system

5G.1 - plot points on a coord. grid

5G.2 - plot points from real life data

5NF.5 – interpret multiplication as scaling

5NF.3 – interpret a fraction as division of the numerator by the

denominator

SCIENCE -

3-5-ETS1-1 create a simple design problem

3-5-ETS1-2 Generate and compare possible solutions

3-5ETS1-3. Create and run fair trials including controlled variables

LA - Standards covered to be determined.

5.W.9 – draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis.

WELL, HOW BIG IS IT??

In order to make an awesome scaled version of a car, we first have to know how big a real car is.

For this activity, you will need either a tape measure (preferred) or a yard stick (ok), or a ruler

(eh, not so good) or your own feet (well, at least you’ll have them).

Procedure:

1. Find a car. Your parents’ car would be the easiest, but any car will work. It would be best if

it was a car of someone you know, and if that person knew you were measuring it (they might

even offer to help!). It would be best to do this in meters, but most likely that would be hard, so

use feet and inches (we can convert it later).

2. Measure the length (the long part) of the car from the very front to the very back. This is

shown be the dimension line marked “A” below. Height = _______________

3. Measure the width (the wide part) of th Measure the length (the long part) of the car from the

very front to the very back. This is shown be the dimension line marked “B” below. Width =

__________

4. Measure the height (the tall part) of the car from the ground to the top of the roof (I’d do this

right behind the front door of the car). This is shown be the dimension line marked “C” below

Height = _____________

5. Using the car drawing below, and the distances above, fill in the length, width and height

based on the car you measured.

So, just how big is the “average” car?

Let’s find out. Here’s what you are going to do.

1. Find all the rest of your group. Groupings are listed below.

2. Record each of the three dimensions for each member of your

group.

3. Add each column and find the mean (average)!

Student Name Length Width Height

Totals!

Mean

Group 1 # 1; 4; 7; 11; 15; 16; 20; 22

Group 2 #2; 5; 9; 14; 13; 17; 19; 23

Group 3 #3; 6; 8; 10; 12; 18; 21

OK, so now we know what the average car size is. We can use this information to

figure out how to make a race car that will be a “scale model” of it. Here’s what

you need to do:

1. Choose to use either the car you measured or the average car sizes as the size

car you will be modelling.

2. Decide on a fraction to use for scaling (this is how much of a real car size your

model will be – for instance if you used 1/2 , your model will be half the size of a

real car; if you choose 1/4 , your model will be a quarter the size of a real car).

Keep in mind the size of your model needs to be under 25 cm in length and under

10 cm wide. The fraction you will need to use depends on how big the real car is.

You may have to try a few before finding one that works for you.

3. Change the fraction to a decimal. Divide the numerator by the denominator.

You should get an answer that is less than 1. If not, you did it wrong.

4. Multiply each of the three dimensions (length, height and width) by the decimal

that you just found.

5. If the length and width do not meet the criteria, you much go back and choose

another fraction. If they do meet the criteria, but you don’t like that size, you can

try again as well!

SCALING THE CAR WORKSHEET (feel free to create your own if you need

more room or rows).

ORIGINAL SIZE FRACTION DECIMAL SCALED SIZE

THE FOUR-SECTION TECHNICAL DRAWING PAPER

Due to orientation issues, this page can not be displayed.

Car materials - Official Rules

All cars created for the Crow Car Racing Extravaganza must conform to the

following rules.

1. All cars must conform to the size limitations decided on by the rules

committee.

Length = 15 – 25cm; Width = 10 – 15 cm; and Height = 10 – 15 cm

2. Cars may be made of any material, however purchasing materials is highly

discouraged.

3. Car design must be to scale and must be approved by race officials before

building can begin.

4. All building of cars must happen in the classroom.

5. Builders will be allowed up to 4 hours of class time (4 periods) to build car.

Any need for more time will require after school or recess time.

6. No car may be placed on the track until all paperwork has been approved by

race officials.

7. Any violation of these rules will result in a penalty that may result in

rebuilding the car.

BUYING MATERIALS! AREA / PERIMETER AND SURFACE AREA WORKSHEET

If you were really building a car, the first thing you’d need to do once you’ve designed your car

is to find out how the amount of materials you need to do the building. This paper will help you

do that.

Part I. Measuring the area of the car.

If you drew the car on centimeter graph paper, you just need to count the squares inside the car.

For squares that are only partly in the car, count every other one (it’s just an estimate). The total

number of squares you counted would be the number of Square Centimeters you will need.

If you didn’t use graph paper, simply tape some graph paper carefully to the back of the paper

you used. Hopefully, you can see the squares. You may need to put it up to the light (window)

to see. Then start counting.

Part II. Totaling up the area amounts.

Area of the side = _____________ cm²

Area of the side = _____________ cm²

Area of the top = _____________ cm²

Area of the front = _____________ cm²

Area of the back = _____________ cm²

Total area of car = _____________ cm²

Part III. Purchasing material -

We are pretending that you are actually buying the material. The material is priced per 100 cm².

You will have to figure out the unit price of the material from that.

Total area needed = _____________ cm²

Price per cm² X ____________

Total Cost = _________________________

Part IV Edge material/Tape/Glue ect.

If you are planning to connect the edges of the sides to the top (most should), then you will need

to buy the material you plan to use. To do this, first find the total length of material needed by

measuring the length of all the edges on your drawing. Be careful not to measure the same part

twice!

Total length of edges on car = __________________ cm

Price of material per cm = X __________________

Total Cost of Edge material ________________________

Part V . If you plan to color, paint or decal your car, you will have to pay for that too!

This is simply the total area to be colored times the cost of paint (per cm). Again, you will have

to find the unit price.

Part VI - Record total amount spent in Builder’s Log

MEASUREMENT FORMULAS

UNIT PRICE = gross price ÷ number of units in the gross

( e.g. $200 per 10 yds = 200 ÷ 10 = $20 a yard).

AREA = length * width (measure as close to what you actually need as possible)

PERIMETER = length of all sides added together

SURFACE AREA = the area of all sides added together

VOLUME = length * width * height

BUILDER’S LOG – for __________________________________

By __________________________

Day ___ -

Activity _______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

Observations/Thoughts _______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

Materials used Bulk Cost Actual Cost

Labor $25.50 / hour

Day ___ Total Cost Materials and Labor

BUILDER’S REPORT – FINAL TALLY

TOTAL COST OF DAY 1 = ____________

TOTAL COST OF DAY 2 = ____________

TOTAL COST OF DAY 3 = ____________

TOTAL COST OF DAY 4 = ____________

ADDITIONAL COSTS* = _____________

TOTAL COST OF THE BUILDING = _____________________________

*Please note: if you needed to finish your building outside of class (or if it took longer than 4

days) materials and labor costs are doubled. If you built anywhere outside of class you must add

in a location fee of $523 per day.

DESIGN COST = __________________

($2,000 PLUS $500 FOR EVERY FORCED REVISION (a forced revision is one that the

teacher makes you do to ensure a quality design)

TOTAL COST OF BUILDING THE CAR = ____________________

I hereby certify that all information on this paper is correct and complete. __________________

STATS FOR TEAM ________________

CAR # _____

TOTAL LENGTH = _________________ cm

TOTAL WIDTH = ___________________cm

TOTAL HEIGHT = __________________cm

MASS OF CAR = _________________ grams

Description of vehicle (please note all features, color, etc) ______________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

PRACTICE LOG – for __________________________________

By __________________________

Day ____ -

RUN #

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

TIME (sec)

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

SPEED (mph)

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

Observations/Thoughts

____________________________

____________________________

____________________________

____________________________

____________________________

____________________________

____________________________

Costs Bulk Cost Actual Cost

Track Rental

$217 an hour

Driver’s Fee

$36 a run

Day ___ Total Cost Materials and Labor

Additional Comments/Revision ideas _______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

SPEED CALCULATION PAPER – Show all calculations on this paper.

Speed is defined as distance over time (or how far in how long). The most

common speed is calculated in miles (how far) per hour (how long) – or mph.

Since our track is less than a mile long, and we are not measuring time in hours, we

have to do some conversions. It’s quite complicated, but thanks to modern

technology, and a very kind teacher, all you have to do is plug in the numbers and

do the math (in other words, fill in the blanks).

Show all work on calculation page.

Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)

Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)

Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)

Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)

Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)

Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)

Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)

STATS:

Top Speed = _________ Slowest Speed = _____________

Average Speed = ______________

BUILDER’S LOG – Revision for_________________________________

By __________________________

Day 1 -

Activity _______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

Observations/Thoughts _______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

Materials used Bulk Cost Actual Cost

Labor $37.50 / hour

Day 1 Total Cost Materials and Labor

REVISED STATS FOR TEAM ________________

CAR # _____

TOTAL LENGTH = _________________ cm

TOTAL WIDTH = ___________________cm

TOTAL HEIGHT = __________________cm

MASS OF CAR = _________________ grams

Description of vehicle (please note all features, color, etc) ______________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

RACE DAY LOG – for __________________________________

By __________________________

Day ____ -

RUN #

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

TIME (sec)

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

SPEED (mph)

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

Observations/Thoughts

____________________________

____________________________

____________________________

____________________________

____________________________

____________________________

____________________________

Costs Bulk Cost Actual Cost

Track Rental

$217 an hour

Driver’s Fee

$36 a run

Day ___ Total Cost Materials and Labor

Additional Comments/Revision ideas _______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

SPEED CALCULATION PAPER – Show all calculations on this paper.

Speed is defined as distance over time (or how far in how long). The most

common speed is calculated in miles (how far) per hour (how long) – or mph.

Since our track is less than a mile long, and we are not measuring time in hours, we

have to do some conversions. It’s quite complicated, but thanks to modern

technology, and a very kind teacher, all you have to do is plug in the numbers and

do the math (in other words, fill in the blanks).

Show all work on calculation page.

Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)

Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)

Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)

Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)

Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)

Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)

Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)

STATS:

Top Speed = _________ Slowest Speed = _____________

Average Speed = ______________

THE GREAT CROW RACE CAR PROJECT RESULTS PAGE!!

In order to truly see how your car did, we will need to pull all the data together. Create a graph

of your car’s (or cars’) performances from the first practice run right through the final heat of

Race Day. Then use that information to answer some questions (Using full sentences and your

very best writing ability).

1. Which run was the fastest for your car?

2. How did your car perform after you made the revisions?

3. What was the key to your car going faster?

4. What could you do, if you were to revise it again, to make it even faster?