Question

in an attempt to increase the distance traveled by their mousetrap car, the students experimented with the length of the car’s snapping arm and the diameter of the rear axle. their results are shown in the table below.

	length of the snapping arm (cm)	diameter of the rear axle (cm)	total distance traveled (m)
trial 2	10	2.5	6.3
trial 3	12	4.0	7.5
trial 4	12	2.5	6.9
trial 5	15	4.0	8.1
trial 6	15	2.5	7.2

based on this information, which of the following new combinations of mousetrap car characteristics would most likely travel the farthest?

a. snapping arm length = 20 cm, rear axle diameter = 2.0 cm
b. snapping arm length = 20 cm, rear axle diameter = 4.5 cm
c. snapping arm length = 5.0 cm, rear axle diameter = 4.5 cm
d. snapping arm length = 5.0 cm, rear axle diameter = 2.0 cm

Explanation:

Analyze the table: When rear axle diameter is constant (4.0 cm), increasing snapping arm length from 10→12→15 cm increases distance (6.8→7.5→8.1 m). When snapping arm length is constant (e.g., 10 cm), larger rear axle diameter (4.0 vs 2.5 cm) gives longer distance (6.8 vs 6.3 m). So longer snapping arm + larger rear axle diameter maximizes distance. Option B has the longest arm (20 cm) and largest axle diameter (4.5 cm) among choices.

Answer:

B. snapping arm length = 20 cm, rear axle diameter = 4.5 cm