Pictured above: Senior Calvin Brown and Mr. Bultemeier stroll down the hallway, following and watching Brown's car as it moves toward the goal distance of 20 meters.
MONROEVILLE, IN: In Mr. Bultemeier’s Physics class, students were recently tasked with building a mousetrap car that would travel a distance of 20 meters. The purpose of the project was for students to use the principles of physics that they have learned so far.
The one basic rule for the competition was the car was to be propelled only by the mousetrap. To build the car, the students sourced their own materials; some made their cars out of erector sets and others out of scrap wood.
An example of one of the cars built for the project.
Students could work alone or in pairs. Each person or pair was then divided into two separate groups. The group with the worst average distance had to buy ice cream for the class.
The competition was originally held at Taylor University for high school physics classes. The competition was held until 2005. Mr. Bultemeier has held the competition with every physics class since 2006. The record distance for Heritage is 51.7 meters, the record was set by Carson White in 2011.
The testing of the cars started on October 26 and continued every Thursday until it was due on November 20. The final runs of the cars were the week before Thanksgiving break. The students all had four tries on the final day to achieve their best distance.
Students work during class time to build their cars.
The winner of this year’s competition was senior Jaxon Hoting with a distance of 35.36 meters. Second place was senior Natalie Otte, with a distance of 34.1 meters. Third place was Brady Richman with a distance of 26.71 meters.
“It was a good change of pace from normal school,” said Hoting, “It allowed us to apply scientific principles to real life.”
Richman prepares to launch his car, propelled by the power of the mousetrap.