Recently the junior high students at Orcas Christian School worked on a “different” assignment, involving pinewood derby cars.

Rather than focus on the racing competition, the goal was to determine what made one vehicle faster than another and how to record the data to best predict sped and performance. The students determined that weight was a significant factor as was the drag on the axles by the wheels that could be reduced by graphite or other lubricants. The fastest car was engineered by Tory Plunket with Makai Martinolich coming within 2/100th of a second behind.