Brush students in AP and traditional physics classes had the opportunity to apply classroom concepts such as friction and energy conversion into real-life action by constructing and testing mouse trap powered cars.  Consisting of a flat wooden or plastic frame with a mouse trap attached to the front end, each car utilized CD’s and wooden rods that functioned as the wheels and axles respectively.  A long string was wrapped around the rear axle and fixed to a hook at the end of a short metal rod, which in turn was attached to the spring of the mouse trap.   An unopened can of soda was used to provide weight at the rear of the car.  

Students tested their cars in the hallway outside their classrooms by releasing the spring of the mousetrap, which in turn caused the metal rod to pull the string on the rear axle, moving the wheels forward.  Each car’s performance was measured and recorded in terms of distance, and the amount of time it took to travel twenty-feet and twenty-five feet respectively.  Students were graded based on their highest individual score. Senior Aiden Kuhns had the top performing car in all three categories, including an impressive distance traveled of 46-feet!  Congratulations to all participating students for a fantastic job!