JACKSON — Classroom lessons got a practical application recently at Jackson Liberty High School when students put their knowledge to use to design cars that were propelled by carbon dioxide (CO2) gas.
Teacher Todd Engle described how the CO2 car race is an international competition. He said the Technology Students Association (TSA) develops the rules and requires every participant to follow the specifications for the model cars they create and race on a lengthy track.
The racing cars use a gas cartridge for power and run on a straight track. The CO2 cartridges are struck from behind by a pin so that each car in a race starts at the same time. The outcome of the race is also based on the car’s aerodynamics.
In the classroom, “we talked about the weight of the car, the aerodynamics, how cars are fueled, and the different kinds of fuel for vehicles,” Engle said.
The teacher said he tries to take lessons from today’s vehicles and apply those lessons to the cars the students build for racing. The students use computers to help them design their cars, which they attempt to make as light as possible.
The release of the gas from the CO2 cartridge propels the vehicle along the track, and the lighter the vehicle, the farther it will go, he said.
The Jackson Liberty students ran a series of races with the CO2-powered cars, and the overall champion was Tyler Schmidt, a freshman. Second place went to Nicholas Paugh, a sophomore. Zackary Burkey, a junior, came in third, and Joe Garnett, a freshman, placed fourth.
The CO2 car racing project is an example of project-based learning. The computer-assisted design course is popular among students who are considering careers in architecture, digital design or engineering.