Process Essay: How To Build A Car

Have you ever had one of those wind up plastic toys that claps and walks in circles? Cool, right? But have you just wanted to pull a string, like starter cords for boats and lawn mowers, instead of winding the monkey up for 30 seconds? When we first learned about our da Vinci project, I was confused, because I knew I wanted to build a car, but I did not know how it would work. Simple Machines gave me an idea of how my car could work, because I knew that using such contraptions could change the motion of the energy. I was thinking I wanted to make it have the coolest possible way to start the car, so I thought, what is the most fun way I have ever started a machine? I immediately thought of pull cords, because I love pulling on those cords to start lawnmowers or small boats. I knew that it would not work

The one in the back does not move, but the chopstick in the front is an axle. This axle has a string tied to it between the tubes in the front and has much of the string wound up on it. This string is how energy is transferred to the car from your body. When the string is pulled, the axle spins with the string coming out and unwinds some string. At the same time, the rubber bands on each outer side of the tubes tied on both axles are wound up. When the string is released, the rubber band pulls back what was wound up as the string re-winds.
I had build many failed bodies for the car, because most of them did not make it much more convenient for the person who is powering the car. I used several bottles with cut open sides and big plastic wheels around which I had tied string but the wheel just did not help it spin well. Then, the chopstick axle on which I glued the string worked. I had given up on big axles and big bodies for the car. I slid the axle through two tubes on the sides of this string. This car made it the most convenient for the user to power the