By constructing this project, I learned about solar panels, what they are made of and the way they work. When sunlight hits the solar panel, the electrons jump from atom to atom to create a current of electricity that charges a battery. The atoms are made up of silicon which is semi conductive, so they add another atom called phosphorous that is a conductor. The angle of the solar panels matters dramatically to catch the most sun rays. On houses, they put the solar panels in the best place for the whole year. In solar arrays, the solar panels are computerized so they can shift with the sun.

I learned about the parts of a car. The body is called the chassis. an axle is a rod on which the wheels are attached on either end. They attach the wheels to an axle to keep them rotating at the same speed and time.

I believe that the most challenging thing I did was soldering. I was working with a rod that was very hot and that scared me a bit. I learned from that process that soldering is not that scary if you know what you want to do and if you are concentrated. I think that cutting sheets of wood with an X-acto knife was a bit intimidating with the sharp blade.

The most valuable lessons that I learned were probably using a soldering iron and an X-acto knife because those are items that you could most possibly need to use later in life. I also think that learning about solar panels and cars are valuable because they are things that we use. I liked learning about solar panels, constructing our cars,  learning about gears and soldering.

I think that this project was worth doing because I learned a lot of new things. I think it was more fun learning about the components and then trying them out. I do not think I would do anything differently to my project.

I would recommend this project to classes because I enjoyed making the car and it taught me a lot of lessons. I do recommend to not fret too much about the soldering iron. If you keep your hands steady and on the handle, then you should be fine.