Gaining Traction

11 December 2012Jim Ganley

In November the Grade 11 robotics class had a tractor pull. Not just regular tractors though, but mechanically advanced robots that we had constructed!
We have been learning about torque, wheel friction and other forces that would affect the robot’s performance. We then had to put the concepts we learned to use, in a practical sense, to create the most powerful robot. Each of the five teams submitted a contender for the contest. With much cheering, the tractor pull was staged and the best robots became evident. A show down was sure to come.
Five minutes before the lunch bell, two robots faced off, their drivers eyeing each other. As Mr. Wardrop yelled “Go”, the room burst into yells and the robots strained with all their metal might. Sweat beaded on the brows of the drivers as it seemed there would be a stalemate, but in a last fit of determination, one robot would conquer. The tractor engineered by the lads from Privett, Hank W, Jordan R and Hunter B, was victorious!
In the days to come the winners would relish in their conquest while the losers would contemplate where they might have gone wrong.
Teagan W, Mackenzie ‘15

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