User Manual

Turn the crank on your Speed Winders™
vehicle 3 full times, place it behind the starting
line, and launch it.
Measure the distance it traveled using
your ruler or measuring tape.
Record the distance in the Test Log section.
Crank up your Speed Winders™ vehicle
6 full turns and
repeat the experiment.
Now do it a
3
rd time and crank your Speed
Winders™ vehicle
9
full turns.
T he more times you turned the crank, the farther your Speed
Winders™ vehicle should have traveled. That's because of
TORQUE- a force that tends to rotate or turn things.
T urning the crank creates a pressure on the rubber band and it
twists up, storing torque as part of the potential energy. When
you release this stored energy by letting your Speed Winders™
go, you also release the torque. More torque makes the wheels
spin farther and faster. By the way, how fast something moves
is called SPEED.
R eal car engines create TORQUE and SPEED, too. So now you can
explain to your Mom and Dad how the engine works in your
family car!
#1: ELASTIC FORCE
HOW MUCH POWER CAN YOU CREATE FOR YOUR SPEED WINDERS™
VEHICLE? HERE ARE THE STEPS FOR THIS EXPERIMENT:
TORQUE TALK
DISTANCE TRAVELED (INCHES)
2
1
TEST LOG
3
4
5
6
# OF CRANK TURNS
SPEED LAB!
3
6
9
Draw a starting line.
x
3
x
6
x
9
How does the number
of crank turns impact
the distance traveled?
4 5