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

Brent Singleton from Ogden, Utah, spent most weekends during high school burning rubber at the racetracks.

Strapped into his gray-and-blue junior dragster, named "Electric Jaws Jr.," Brent would compete in the National Hot Rod Association's Junior Dragster leagues for 8-to-17-year-olds. When the starting light flipped from yellow to green, he would push the pedal to the floor and race 201 meters (660 feet) to the finish line. His goal was not only to reach the finish line first, but to stay just below the league's speed limit of 137 kilometers (85 miles) per hour.

Like his dad--who also raced dragsters--Brent feels a need for speed. But, at the same time, the teen is passionate about protecting the environment. Like all race cars, junior dragsters run on fuel made from petroleum. Brent was aware that burning petroleum produces pollution. And he knew that petroleum is a finite resource. "It's going to be only so long before we use it all," he says.

So when Brent was 14, he started a science project to design an electric dragster. Instead of relying on a petroleum engine, his dragster would cruise to the finish line powered by an electric motor that converts electrical energy into speed-boosting energy of motion. Other racers were skeptical. "There's a myth that electric cars are slow," Brent says. "I wanted to show that they could be just as fast--or even faster--than a car that runs on petroleum." To prove that a car can be fast and environmentally friendly, Brent had to figure out how to maximize the speed of an electric car so that he could leave the gas-guzzling competition in the dust.

FOLLOW THE COURSE

Brent realized that there were many factors that would affect the performance and speed of an electric dragster. To stay on track during his project, Brent relied on the step-by-step process that scientists use to design and perform experiments. "Using the scientific method helps you to solve any problem," he says. Read on to learn how Brent followed the steps of the scientific method to create a high-speed and environmentally friendly dragster.

STEP ONE: RACING RESEARCH

As with all science experiments, the idea for Brent's project came from an observation. When Brent was 14, his dad bought a hybrid vehicle. Brent and his dad modified this combination of an electric car and a traditional gas-powered vehicle to run at a racetrack. The hybrid easily reached speeds of 155 km (96 mi) per hour. Brent was surprised at how fast the car could go.

That discovery spurred Brent on to do some background research to learn about the factors that could affect the speed of an electric car. In addition to searching the library and the Internet for information, Brent asked for help from engineers at Weber State University, near his home in Utah. "My project wouldn't have worked without the help of others," he says.

Brent learned that one factor--voltage--may significantly affect an electric dragster's top speed. An electric motor runs on energy created by the flow of negatively charged particles called electrons. And an increase in the motor's voltage could boost the strength of this electric current. Brent suspected that a stronger electric current running through a motor could help power an electric dragster to higher speeds.

STEP TWO: BUCKLE UP

Brent's next step was to write a research question. He wanted to find the ideal voltage for his electric dragster. That voltage would help him crush the competition by zipping away from the starting line faster than any other car, while staying within the racetrack's speed limit. So Brent wrote this question: How does the voltage of an electric dragster affect the car's speed?

Brent did not have enough information to answer his research question. He had to come up with a hypothesis. Knowing that this possible explanation for a set of observations must be testable, he stated his hypothesis this way: Increasing the voltage of an electric dragster will increase the car's maximum speed.

STEP THREE: START YOUR ENGINES

To test his hypothesis, Brent designed an experiment. Like all good experiments, Brent's project included a well-thought-out procedure. This step-by-step plan contained clear instructions to test the effect of one or more variables (characteristics) on another variable.

Based on his research, Brent determined that his independent variable, or the factor he would change on purpose during the experiment, would be the car's voltage. At each voltage, Brent would race the electric dragster at the racetrack and monitor his top speed. That speed would be his dependent variable, or the variable that responds to a change in the independent variable.

STEP FOUR: WATCH THE CLOCK

Brent and his dad worked on the junior dragster together. They adjusted the motor's voltage and then entered the car, recording the junior dragster's resulting times and top speeds. After studying these data, Brent reached a conclusion for his experiment. His hypothesis was correct. A summary of his results showed that each time he increased voltage, his top speed in the race also increased.

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.