Enhancing Student Engagement with a Small-Scale Car That Is Motion-Controlled through Chemical Kinetics and Basic Electronics

Abstract

A five day activity that involves the construction and characterization of a small car whose motion is controlled by the vitamin C clock reaction is presented. The purpose of the activity is to engage first-year Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students not majoring in the chemical sciences. Throughout the activity students learn and put into practice basic concepts of electronics and chemical kinetics, while testing four different types of electric power devices: galvanic cells, thermoelectrical cells, fuel cells, and solar panels. They also learn to analyze the vitamin C clock reaction with a simple kinetic model to calculate the time elapsed for a color transition from transparent to dark. A target-distance competition takes place on the last day of the activity.