Working Motor

Working Motor

We already know how a motor works, in this experiment a simple electric motor will turn a spindle around and around. Energy is being used to attach the propeller to the spindle. Boats are usually driven by propellers this way.

Make it work

This propeller-driven boat makes good use of energy. It is designed with a propeller that drives through air rather than water because air is thinner than water and easier to move.

What You Need:

• balsa wood
• electric motor
• screws and nails
• poster board
• thin dowels
• wire and clips
• tape and glue
• model propeller

Procedure:

1. Make a balsa-wood frame for the hull and deck as shown on the right.
2. Ask an adult to drill holes for the dowels. Glue them in place with waterproof glue. Screw the electric motor in position.
3. Glue the battery onto the upper deck and wire up the circuit for the motor.
4. Make the framework for the rudder, drilling shallow holes for the dowel to sit in so that it can turn freely from side to side.
5. Glue and nail the balsa-wood support into position on the upper deck.
6. Cut a rectangle of poster board for the rudder and tape it into place on the dowel.
7. Glue propeller to the motor spindle, clip leads onto the battery, and watch your boat go!

Wrong way!

If your boat goes backward instead of forward, you may have attached the propeller blades the wrong way around, so that the propeller is pulling instead of pushing. The boat will also reverse if the battery is connected the wrong way around.

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