This was my second shot in this BOLT, same challenges, different distances, and higher stakes. Sure, you could say that I had an unfair advantage but I was prepared to put my heart and soul into this new car. One of the biggest problems I had in the first go-round was space, and the lack of it. I made a wide body so that we were prepared for the future. This time the challenge was to travel 5 meters with a vehicle powered only by a single mouse trap. After I thought I was done with the body I realized how flimsy and weak it was. I had to re-enforce it with more card board. The axels are made of pencils that were sanded down to make it smooth, reducing friction. I then attached a pencil to the mouse trap so that the string had a further distance to travel. Then, after attaching my wheels it was time to pull out my crazy math skills and incorporated my equation for string length that I invented the first time I did this challenge (Length=total distance / wheel circumference x axel circumference + distance between mousetrap and axel) I put this equation into practice and made it on my first try. It was amazing. The brute force of a mouse trap pulling a string, rotating an axel, rotating a wheel, carrying a car to the finish line.
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ReflectionAuthorBryce Tenney
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