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nursing101 nursing101
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11 years ago
I have to do some kind of science experiment and have a Toyota 4Runner. Does anyone have any suggestions for an advanced level high school science experiment?
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11 years ago
How about measuring the forces on the 4Runner which determine its miles/gallon. Principally those forces are the Rolling Resistance and Aerodynamic Drag. The rolling resistance is almost a constant and is determined by the tire type, how much it's inflated, the nature of the road (sand vs asphalt for instance), and the weight of the car. Tires are given a value called "RRC", rolling resistance coefficient, though it may be tough to find the value for your tires. It may be easier to measure it.

The aerodynamic drag is a function of the cross sectional area of the car, a value Cd (Coefficient of Drag) representing the sleekness of the shape, and the square of the air speed.

The rolling resistance and aero drag form a simple polynomial. You could find it by measuring the deceleration at several speeds (car in neutral. use a stopwatch etc).

You could then alter the weight (your friends) or change the tire pressure etc.

This project would have some relevance to your life-after-project; you'd understand a lot about what makes an efficient car design.

Wikipedia and Google can help you find information on these terms. Electric car books usually describe these forces too since they are trying to be so efficient.
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julesxiiijulesxiii
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11 years ago
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#3
11 years ago
I've heard of using excess heat from the engine to cook food wrapped in tinfoil and placed under the hood.

that would be fun and something tangible for the teacher to chew on...

Maybe heat up a recipe for apple crisp.  (a box of yellow cake mix, a stick of butter and a can of apple pie filling)....throw it all in some tinfoil container and drive vehicle for X number of miles to obtain a temp of X for X number of minutes.

I gotta go...NOW I'm hungry.

Have fun!
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