KENYA SCIENCE AND ENGNEERING FAIR

FORUM: 59THEDITION

CATEGORY: ENERGY AND TRANSPORTATION

TITLE: BALLOON POWERED CAR

VENUE: KAHARATI SECONDARY SCHOOL

PRESENTERS : EDWIN MUTONGA ADM 1864

: CHRIS MWAURA ADM 1883

CLASS: FORM THREE

SCHOOL: MÚNGÚINI SEC.SCHOOL

LEVEL: SUB COUNTY

REGION: CENTRAL

DATE: 21TH February, 2025

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DECLARATION

We declare that this project is our own and that it has never been
presented before any panel of judges.

PRESENTERS

NAME: Chris mwaura SIGN:___________ DATE:______________

NAME: Edwin Mutonga SIGN:___________ DATE:______________

SUPERVISOR

NAME: MR GEORGE SIGN:____________ DATE:_____________

HEAD OF DEPARTMENT

NAME: MR IRUNGU SIGN:____________ DATE:_____________

This project has been submitted with my permission.

PRINCIPAL

SIGN:__________________________________________ DATE:________________________

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We send our regards to almighty God for his gift of life to pursue this project.
We also appreciate the following for their support:

 Mr. Mbogo -The school principal for funding our project thus we were
able to get necessary financial support.

 Mr. Irungu –Head of science department for her mentorship thought the
project

 Mr. Njuguna– Lab technician for allowing us the space to perform the
project.

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ABSTRACT

Do you think you could build a car powered by nothing but air? A balloon –
powered car is pushed forward by air escaping from the balloon and it is fun
and easy to build with materials you already have around your house. Can
you image how you would want your own balloon –powered car to look? Can
you design a car that will travel as far as possible? You can even measure
your car speed.
This project aims to come up with a car whose mobility will be powered by air and
not powered fuel as the norm. Through an experiment we shall collect data on how
the size of the balloon would affect the speed of the balloon. This will help us
graphically analyze the data hence draw conclusion based on the data.

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DEDICATION

This project can be applied to make car that does not require fueling for its
motion hence reducing emission of carbon monoxide gas. Furthermore the
project can help reduce the cost of fueling incurred by automobiles.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Declaration……………………………………………………………………ii

Acknowledgement………………………………………………………..iii

Abstract………………………………………………………………………..iv

Dedication……………………………………………………………………v

Table of contents………………………………………………………….vi

CHAPTER ONE

1.1 Background information…………………………………………1

1.2 Statement of originality……………………………………………2

1.3 Statement of problems………………………………………………3

1.4 Objectives………………………………………………………………….3

1.5 Assumptions …………………………………………………………….4

CHAPTER TWO

2.0 Literature view…………………………………………………………5

2.1 Importance of our project…………………………………………..6

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

3.0 Concept used………………………………………………………….7

3.1 Apparatus…………………………………………………………………….8

3.2 procedure …………………………………………………………………….9

3.3 Observation……………………………………………………………………
10

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 CHAPTER FOUR

4.0
Parameters………………………………………………………………………..1
1

4.1 Effects of change of parameters………………………………………….12

4.2
Merits………………………………………………………………………………
…..13

4.3
Demerits……………………………………………………………………………
…14

4.4 Data
analysis…………………………………………………………………………15

4.5
conclusion…………………………………………………………………………
……16

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0
Recommendation…………………………………………………………………..
17

5.1 Future
directions……………………………………………………………………18

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CHAPTER ONE

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

A motor fuel is a fuel that is used to provide power to motor vehicles

(http;//en.m.wikipedia.org).

In the modern science world most of cars are designed to be propelled by

carbon products e.g petrol, diesel, and e.t.c. Thus most automobile are moved
by either petrol or diesel filled engines.

However rockets used to move to outer space are propelled by changing air
pressure chambers.

Thus can we create a car propelled by changing air pressure or an automobile

be propelled by an air pressure engine and how and how the speed of such car
can be increased?

Moreover , the increased use of petroleum products in vehicles and other

locomotive engines , has resulted to emission of exhaust gasses such as carbon
(II) oxide and sulpur ( IV) oxide which in turn brings about problems such as;

a) Inflation of the lungs.

b) Difficulty in breathing leading to even loss of life.

c) Depletion of Ozone layer which result to climatic changes.

Dissolve gasses in atmospheric water vapour comes down as an acid rain

hence affecting aquatic life and plants.

Thus the OBJECTIVE of the project;

a) Design an air pressure engine car.

b) How the speed of the car is affected with change in size of balloons.

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ASSUMPTIONS

The project assumes the availability of enough air –pressure stations along the
roads and that most of the roads for use of the air pressure automobile are
leveled.

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CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

A balloon powered car is a car that would propel forward due to changes in
air pressure .Thus the engine of the car is the balloon.

It has been possible to make a rocket propelled by air pressure and thus the
same concept can be used to build a car that could be propelled by changes in
air pressure.

Designing studies have been made in designing a steam drive engines, a petrol
drive engine and also electric engines.

This project aims at designing an engine working on the concept of change in

air pressure causing movement of a body (car) rather than petrol engine,
electric engines or steam engines which are in existence.

The project also investigates the cause of various part of the car on the speed
of the car.

IMPORTANCE

The project success would significantly reduce atmospheric pollution and cost
of crude fuel consumption in the country hence reducing low standards of
living

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CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

CONCEPT USED

Bernoulli’s principle effect in air supports that when a region of high pressure
is created there is low velocity in the same region and when a region of low
pressure is created there is high velocity in the same region.

Also from the Newton`s third law of motion it supports that action and
reaction forces are equal and occur in opposite directions.

APPARATUS

i. 3 balloon of different size.

ii. 8 circular bottle lids.

iii. 4 straws of different length

iv. Cello tape

v. Glue - (optional)

vi. A 500ml plastic empty bottle container and rectangular shaped cotton.

vii. Two narrow ink tubes of a pen

viii. A pair of scissors or a scalpel

ix. Stopwatch

x. A meter rule

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METHOD (PROCEDURE)

1. Make holes on four circular lids.

2. Cut the 500ml empty plastic bottle to shape of a car.

3. Using the narrow pipe of a pen cut a straw down the size of it.

4. Tape the straws to the piece of the plastic firmly.

5. Fix the circular lid with holes (wheels) on the narrow pipe of a pen so
as to use it as an axel.

6. Pass the axel through the straws which are fixed on the plastic and fix
the other wheels. Ensure that the wheels are rotating.

7. Attach a balloon on a straw or a pen case.

8. Attach the balloon with a tape on top of the plastic bottle car model.

9. Inflate the balloon and put your finger at the end of the straw to trap
the air. Place the balloon on a flat surface and release your finger.

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CHAPTER FOUR

VARIABLES.

I. Effect of change to size of balloon to motion of car.

II. Effect of change of material of the car on motion of the car i.e plastic
materials, soft board, cardboard e.t.c.

III. Effect of change of the diameter of the straw attached to the balloon.

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OBSERVATION AND DATA

When the balloon is inflated and the straw end opened the car moves in
opposite direction to the direction the straw is facing.

When the straw end is open and the air starts to come out of the balloon, the
air at the end of the straw moves at a high velocity creating a region of low
pressure. On the other hand, air inside the balloon moves at a low velocity
thus creating a region a region of high pressure. The high pressure inside the
balloon is the one responsible for the car to move as it pushes.

On the hand when the balloon is inflated an action force takes place inside the
balloon .When the air is coming out of the balloon a reaction force is
experienced from the balloon hence the car is propelled forward.

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 Tabulated results

a) Effects of size of ball0on on motion of the car.

The size of the balloon was varied and the speed of the car recorded as below
in each case;

Size of Distance moved by the Time taken to move that Speed of car (m/s)
balloon car distance

0.6951M/S
0.21M 7METRES 10.07SECONDS

0.800M/S
0.12 M 7METRES 10 .00SECONDS

0.8696
0.10M 7METERS 8.05SECONDS

From the above table a graph of size of balloon against the 1/ speed of the car
is plotted. It is a straight line graph.

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The size of the balloon is inversely proportional to the generated speed of the
car. The smaller balloon causes more pressure difference hence higher speed.

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CHAPTER FIVE.

CONCLUSION

The calculated speed of the car was not exact due to errors in experiment i.e
some of the energy was lost through friction.

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CHAPTER SIX:

RECOMMENDATION

More research should be done on how to reduce friction produced hence

increase in efficiency of the automobile.

We recommend a research on what would be the effect of change in size of

wheel of the car on it speed.

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REFFERENCE

1. K.L.B, Secondary physics Book two, (fourth edition) 2013, Kenya literature
bureau, Nairobi Kenya, page 204-234.

2. K.L.B, Secondary physics Book three,(third edition) 2010,Kenya literature

bureau, Nairobi Kenya ,page 98.

3. https://en.m.wikipedia.orgMotorfuel

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