Pinewood Derby Simulator

Learn more about this simulator

Drag the sliders to simulate a pinewood derby car rolling down a track. At the bottom, the kinetic and potential energy of the car is plotted at each point on the track. What factors have the biggest effect on the car's time?

Parameters

TRACK

Track Length (ft)

Track Height (in)

Track level-off distance (ft)

Grade (%)

CAR

Car weight (oz)

Center-of-mass (in)

Friction

Drag coefficient

Number of wheels

Mass of one wheel (oz)

Wheel diameter (in)

Result