Content

• Advice
• Warning
• What you need

• Use a knife to cut into the shape of wheels.
• Loop the rubber band around the rim to create more grip.
• You can also use CDs, DVDs, and vinyl records as wheels.
• NOTE: In this example, we will use the big rear wheel and the smaller front wheel.

Remove the dangerous pointed teeth on the mouse trap's lever arm. Look for a stick that will set traps on a mousetrap. Inserts often have many sharp teeth. Carefully remove the stick and use the pliers to pull out all the teeth if any.

Create the frame from thick cardboard. To mount the mousetrap, the chassis must be approximately 1.3 cm larger than the trap on all sides. You need to measure and draw on cardboard, and then use a knife to cut the frame.

• Balsa or chunk can be used as a lightweight yet sturdy chassis.

Attach the mouse trap to the chassis. Place the mousetrap in the center of the chassis, then use fabric tape or packing tape to fix all four sides of the mousetrap to the chassis.

• Avoid sticking to the springs when fixing the mousetrap.You will see a spring located between the trap and the swingarm.

Line up and attach the studs under the chassis. These studs hold the rods that serve as the axles, which are then attached to the wheel. Cars will not run straight if any of the studs are out of place. So you should:

• Use a ruler and pencil to mark the positions of the studs on the four corners of the chassis.
• Use the ruler to check the markings for alignment.
• Screw the screws through the cardboard in the correct places.

Making axles. Cut 2 grilled skewers 4 cm longer between the studs. These skewers / pins will be the shaft for the wheels and should be thin to pass through the studs and rotate freely.

• Too thick the studs or too small spikes will cause the axle to rotate within the stud and may affect the straightness of the vehicle.

Attach the wheel to the axle. You can use the sharp end of the compass to poke the hole in the center of each wheel. This will make the holes slightly smaller than the axles. Next you will:

• Wrap the rubber band around the axle so that it is close to the body of the vehicle but does not touch the body. The rubber band forms a cushion between the wheel and the body of the car, but can create friction if it touches the body of the car.
• Push the wheel on the axle. Big wheels will be mounted on the rear axle, small wheels will be mounted on the front axles of the vehicle.
• The axle rod must extend about 2.5 cm from the wheel.

Do not let the wheels fall or deviate. You can do this by wrapping a thin rubber band around the stick just outside the wheel. The rubber band will keep the tires from the vehicle. advertisement

Part 3 of 3: Driving

1. 

   Tie the rope to the swing arm. Carefully lift the swingarm just enough to thread one end of the string below, then wrap the string around the swingarm and tie the knot to fix the string.
   • Just use a regular knot like a square knot to tie the rope to the rodent's swing arm.

2. 

   Cut the rope. Before cutting the rope, make sure it is long enough to stick out from the rear axle of the car. The longer the rope, the longer it will take for the trap to release, and this will cause the vehicle to accelerate more slowly, but for longer distances.

3. 

   Prepare the drive line. The rope is the part that transfers the force from the mousetrap's spring to the rear wheel of the car. Reattach the swingarm and hold it in place. While holding the swingarm, you will:
   • Use your other hand to wrap the rope tightly around the rear axle of the vehicle.
   • Continue to wrap all the string.
   • The string should be wrapped tightly to hold the swingarm.

4. 

   Let the car run. Release your hand from the car and the rope. The kinetic energy of the spring on the mousetrap will travel through the rope to the rear axle of the car, causing the car to move forward a few meters, depending on the structure of the vehicle and the length of the rope. advertisement

Advice

• Remember to clear the road ahead. Obstacles can break fragile vehicle components.
• To help the car operate smoothly, you can place an object behind or in front of the car. Some recyclables you can use are water bottle caps, string, sticky clay or an eraser.
• If you don't have a small skewer, you can replace it with a straw.
• You can also use toy car wheels and wheels instead of sticks and cardboard, but use super glue to fix the string.

Warning

• Never use rat traps to do this. If you accidentally release the swingarm at the wrong time, the force of the swing arm can break your finger.
• Young children should only assemble cars with mouse traps with the help of adults.

What you need

• Compa (to draw circles)
• Pencil (to draw circles)
• Cloth tape
• Strong rope
• Elastic / rubber bands
• Buttons (4)
• Thick cardboard or foam core
• Mouse traps
• Pliers
• Ruler
• Thin skewer (2)
• Multi-purpose knife