Green racer: a young race-car driver proves that environmentally friendly dragsters can crush the gas-guzzling competition

Science World, Sept 18, 2006 by Britt Norlander

Brent used his data to find the ideal voltage for his junior dragster. At 130 volts, Brent could beat the competition and--with a top speed of 136 km (84.7 mi) per hour--he could also stay below the racing league's 137 km (85 mi) per hour speed limit. "We found the sweet spot," he says.

WINNER'S LAP

Brent's experiment has earned him fame at racetracks. He proved that an electric car could consistently outrace traditional cars. "My dragster is one of the fastest dragsters out there," Brent says. Electric cars are allowed to participate in the National Hot Rod Association's races, but they are not qualified to collect prizes. So Brent is lobbying the Association to allow electric cars to officially race in their competitions.

Brent's project earned him a spot at the 2006 Intel International Science Fair, as well as two awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For helping to promote the use of electrical energy, Brent received the President's Environmental Youth Award. He also won the EPA Clean Air Excellence Award, a prize that honors projects and technologies that help to reduce pollution. This prestigious award is usually bestowed upon big corporations. "I am the first individual to win it," says Brent.

This fall, the 19-year-old will be entering Weber State University, where he will continue promoting the use of environmentally friendly energy alternatives. "I have learned that the technology is there. We just need to start using it," Brent says.

nuts & bolts

SCIENTIFIC-METHOD CHECKLIST

[] Base your idea for an experiment on an observation.

[] State your purpose. Usually, the purpose of an experiment is stated in the form of a research question: What is the effect of [your independent variable] on [your dependent variable]?

[] Perform background research to find out what is already known about your topic.

[] State your hypothesis, a possible answer to a research question.

[] Design a detailed procedure, or list of steps (see p. 14).

[] Carry out your experiment and collect data.

[] Record your results. In many cases you can present your results in charts, pictures, or graphs (see p. 18).

[] Draw a conclusion from your results. Did your hypothesis prove true?

SCIENTIFIC METHOD: WORDS TO KNOW

VARIABLES: Characteristics in an experiment that change or could be changed.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE: Factor that you change on purpose; also called manipulated variable.

DEPENDENT VARIABLE: Factor that responds to a change in the independent variable; also called responding variable.

HYPOTHESIS: Possible explanation for a set of observations or an answer to a scientific question; must be testable.

CONSTANTS: Characteristics in an experiment that are kept unchanged in all trials.

CONTROL: Standard to which you will compare your results.

TRIALS: Number of times an experiment is repeated for each level, or value, of the independent variable. The more trials, the more reliable your results.