The pupils built the miniature cars, which had a carbon dioxide canister attached to them.
During the race, a button was pressed to release the car, and it would shoot forward propelled by the canister.The miniature cars were made by the pupils with either wood or plastic and had to weigh a minimum of 70g.
Willie Viljoen, from UJ, said the event was one of a series of events hosted by UJ Technolab and lecturers to educate high school pupils and groom them into first year engineering students at the institution.
Venter, a lecturer in the school of electrical engineering at the University of Joburg (UJ) who sponsored the event, said that “ We aimed this more at physics education to show them time of distance, more than it being a race,” said Johan Venter, the CO² (carbon dioxide) Dragster race director.
There was no prize on offer for the youngsters, but bragging rights in addition to nurturing their skills and knowledge in engineering.
– IOL
