Air Resistance on a Fan Car

Problem: When a large fan is blowing air against the fan car at three different speeds (high, medium, and low), then will the overall speed be lowered?

Materials:

· Fan car (K’NEX pieces, small, battery-powered fan, wheels with tires)

· AA batteries

· Large 3-speed fan

· Timer

· Masking tape











Process:

1. Load two AA batteries into the fan that is attached to the K’NEX car.

2. Mark a starting line and a finish line two meters away from each other with small pieces of masking tape.

3. Plug in the large fan and place it approximately 5 centimeters away from the finish line.

4. Place the fan car on the starting line with the small fan facing opposite the large fan.

5. For the first test, test the amount of resistance when the large fan is off.

6. Turn the small fan on and time how long it takes for it to reach the finish line with the timer.

7. Repeat this test for three trails and record times and observations.

8. For the second test, put the large fan on a low setting and time the fan car’s progress.

9. Repeat this test for three trails and record observations and results.

10. On the third test, switch the large fan to the medium setting and time.

11. Repeat the test three more times and record observations and times.

12. For the last test, turn the fan on the highest setting and time the fan car.

13. Record observations and organize all trails and times into a table and find the average time of each trail.



Observations:

In this particular lab there weren’t many things that I observed, though I will state the small amount that I did. I saw that there was a slight incline on the surface that we were testing the car on. I also observed that the wheel alignment kept making the car veer off to the right. When the small and large fans were on I could hear their engines...