The Individual Effect of Cat Litter, Rock Salt, Sand, and Rice on the Traction of a Tire on Ice
The objective of this experiment was to study the individual effects of cat litter, rock salt, sand, and rice on the traction of a tire on ice. This experiment has real world value as, every year, someone will inevitably get trapped by ice. By knowing what material will increase traction the most for their tires, a common citizen may be able to get out of an icy situation.
This experiment was conducted by using a tire on the end of a lever arm, pans of ice, and the four different materials, measured to a constant 50 mL. The tire had a motor to spin it that was connected to a regulated power source which kept the power consistent. The tire was then lowered onto a pan of ice that had the trial’s randomly chosen material spread evenly across the top. The time from the second the tire touched the ice to when it stopped spinning was recorded. It was assumed that the shortest stopping time would be the highest traction.
It was hypothesized that cat litter would yield the highest traction of a tire on ice; however, rock salt was deemed the best, followed by sand. Salt and sand were close enough together that a two-sample t test had to be run to ensure that the stopping time using salt was significantly lower than when sand was used. The result of this t test indicated that salt was, indeed, the material with the fastest stopping time.
Research Conducted By:
Kate Barber
Sterling Heights High School
Dee Paulson
Lake Shore High School
Warren Consolidated Schools