The Flash

Event Year: 2021
Event Location: Virtual
Competition: Junior Solar Sprint
Division: 3-5
School: Buck Lake Elementary
Team Size: 1

Abhay, 4th grade Digital Learner @ Buck Lake

Hello, my name is Abhay, and I am in 4th grade. This is me and my solar car – The Flash.

Let me tell you about my solar car. Here is the design process.

Ask

How would you make a fast, sturdy, innovative, and safe car that works on solar energy?

Design

Below are pictures of my design.

Plan

I planned out my car by seeing different types of toy cars to see what I should design my solar car.

Create

Building and testing out the car – to see if there are can be any improvements.

Improve

Correcting any mistakes – to protect the passenger from harm. To make the car safe and sturdy, able to change the direction of the solar panel, to secure the solar panel with cello tape, balancing the weight by adjusting the motor’s position. I also kept the weight on the solar car low so that it will be fast and steady. I also added a name tag made from foam which acts as a bumper.

Share

Showing – telling my friends, classmates, and family about my solar Car

About my team and my solar car

I am in a group of one so I did it all by myself (with a little help from my dad). Here is the process the car goes through to move. 

First, the solar panel in my solar car takes the light energy and converts it into electrical energy.

Then, the electricity powers the electric motor. Lastly, the electric motor converts the electric energy into mechanical energy, which is used to rotate two 1-inch gears. The gears are connected to the metal axels to which back wheels of the cars are attached. When the wheels rotate and push the car forward.     

Speed

My solar car took 15 seconds to go 30 feet.                             

Materials used for solar car                     

I have used Balsa wood, 3V photovoltaic panel, motor, steel axles, wires, alligator clips, two 1″ gear, wooden rod, plastic wire, cello tape, legos to build my solar car.

Pictures of my solar car

Dimensions of my solar car

Length – 29.21 centimeters

Width – 11.43 centimeters

Height – 10.16 centimeters

My solar car introduction

Video of my Solar Car

18 thoughts on “The Flash

  • Why does it make a sound outside when you’re holding it?

    Reply
    • It makes a sound because the gears are hitting the plastic box.

      Reply
  • I noticed innovative ideas behind your car design. Good narration and car runs great. keep up the good sprit kid.

    Reply
  • This project shows so much creativity, and I can tell you worked very hard on it! Keep up the good work!

    Reply
  • Great job! I was really impressed with your design. Keep up the great work and good luck!

    Reply
  • Abhay great job! I was impressed with your design. Keep up the great work and good luck!

    Reply
  • Thank you very much for taking time check my solar car website.

    Reply
  • I really like the way you built the adjustment for the solar panel. It looks like it works great!

    Reply
    • Thanks for your nice feedback. It took me some time to figure out how to place the solar panel so that the car can run without any problem which ever direction the sun is.

      Reply
  • Thanks for the constructive comment. I will remember to put it on next time.

    Reply
  • You did a great job explaining your project, very expressive! I like that you carried the theme of your project in the car design. Great run in the sun, so good luck and congratulations on a job well done!

    Reply
    • Thanks for the nice complement

      -Abhay

      Reply
  • You did awesome! I did have one problem though. I saw a watermark in the Flash logo, and you didn’t give credit to the source you got the photo from.

    Reply
    • Thanks you. I will definitely remember credit the source next time.

      Reply

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