The Sunshine Sharks

Event Year: 2022
Event Location: Cocoa-FL
Competition: Junior Solar Sprint
Division: 4-6 (JSS Green)
School: NSU University School
Team Size: 2

Team Information

Car Name: Megalodon
Team Name: The Sunshine Sharks
School Name: NSU University School
Team Members Names: Polina S. and Hannah R.

Design Documentation

Project Log

Date	Hours	Tasks Performed	Obstacles Encountered	Modifications to Car
2/2	1	I learned about the competition, looked at other cars, then planned out my car.	It was difficult for me to come up with an idea for my car because I had never done it before.
3/2	1	I got a piece of balsa wood for the body. I chose large wheels for the back and smaller wheels for the front. I hammered the large gear on the back axel and put on the two back wheels with spacers. hammered my wheels.		body done
3/9	1	I glued on my motor and back and front wheels.	my motor fell off 2 times, and my front wheels fell off 1 time.	Wheels and motor attached
3/16	1	I made my ball holder. I tested my car on battery in the hall.		added ball holder
3/23	1	I made the panel holders and used velcro to attach my solar panel. I tested my car inside.	Velcro kept falling off	added panel supports and panel
3/30	1	Then I got my battery pack on and my binder comb on	my binder comb fell off	added battery pack
4/6	.5	Tested my car during recess
4/7	.5	Tested my car during recess
4/20	1	School Competition	front wheels fell off
4/21	.5	Glued wheels back on and made sure it went straight

Design Drawings

Finished Car Specifications

Car Size with Panel	Length: 33 cm	Width: 11 cm	Height: 7.5 cm
Weight with Panel	122.94 g
Wheel size	Front wheels: 3.5 cm	Back wheels: 4 cm
Gear Ratio	motor gear: axle gear 10:30=1:3

Materials Used

	Approx. Cost
New:
Solar Made solar panel, motor	20.99
motor	2.50
black gears (2 x 0.34)	0.68
front wheels with axel (accessory pack)	3.99
axel for back	2.50
back wheels	0.30
balsa wood	2.31
spacers for bearings	5.45
switch	0.05
piece of black binder for eyelet	0.07
Velcro	0.07
alligator clips	0.14

Consumables:
masking tape
hot glue
solder

Recycled:
card board
balsa wood for supporting panel and attaching binder comb

Test Results / Trial Runs

Test Runs 1 – date: 4/6/2022
Weather conditions: Partly cloudy
Ran on panel

Observations of results: My car went straight
Any recommendations for improvements:

Attempt	Time, s	Distance, m	Speed, m/s
1	5.65	14.5	2.57
2	6.06	14.5	2.39
3	5.94	14.5	2.44

Test Runs 2 – date: 4/7/2022
Weather conditions: Sunny
Ran on Panel

Observations of results: My car went straight
Any recommendations for improvements:

Attempt	Time, s	Distance, m	Speed, m/s
1	5.81	14.5	2.50
2	6.31	14.5	2.30
3	6.01	14.5	2.41

Test Runs 3 – date: 4/20/2022
Weather conditions: sunny most of the time
Battery or Panel: I ran on panel

Observations of results: I felt like my car went well but my wheel fell off so I only ran twice.
Any recommendations for improvements: Going to reinforce with adult hot glue so it doesn’t fall off easily