Some teens use the term “drag” to describe their homework.

But for the 75 teams from across Canada expected to participate in the Formula One in Schools Technology Challenge next Wednesday at the Ontario Science Centre, “drag” will likely be followed by the word “coefficient,” which may turn out to be the determining factor in winning the competition.

Started in Britain in 1999 and now involving nearly 30 countries, F1 in Schools is an international program funded by Ferrari, McLaren and the 10 other Grand Prix teams and geared to raise the profile of automotive engineering among students aged 11-18.

In a nutshell, the school teams design, build and race F1 model cars — from scratch. The students are not just exposed to racing by the program but to the science behind it.

With the help of a computer-aided design (CAD) program, the students construct a 1/20th-scale, battery-powered Formula One race car out of a piece of lightweight balsa wood. The only restriction is a minimum weight and all entries must use the same wheels.

Projects are launched at the beginning of the school year, so it has been a busy few months for students working together to design, analyze, build, test and race their cars.

To be fastest does not guarantee victory because teams must also incorporate marketing and a sponsor search in order to compete nationally and internationally — just like a full-scale F1 race team.

Each team is made up of between three and six students, with each assigned a specific task. They must prepare a business plan, develop a budget and attract sponsorship. They are encouraged to collaborate with industry and forge business relationships.

The real fun comes when teams race against each other. Cars often reach speeds of up to 60 km/h on a 20-metre-long track. There are two runs — one when the car is launched automatically and a second when a “driver” manually launches the car and reaction time becomes part of the mark.

Teams are judged not only on the speed of their entries but for their verbal presentations, evidence of the design and work involved and their marketing expertise during presentations made in the “pits.”

It’s a team effort from start to finish.

Paul Riddell, director of development for TeamWork Canada Inc., which supervises the F1 in Schools program in Canada, is passionate about the project:

“I have never felt more satisfied, more fulfilled, more accomplished than when I see the faces of these young people who come through our competition.”

Last September, two teams from Scarborough (Woburn Collegiate and the Scarborough Academy of Technological, Environmental and Computer Technology) and one from Winnipeg (Miles Macdonell Collegiate) represented Canada at the world finals in London.

Special guests were McLaren F1 driver Lewis Hamilton and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone. Canada tied for third overall. Members of the winning team — St. David’s Secondary School in County Wicklow, Ireland — were each awarded a motorsport-engineering scholarship to City University, London.

This September, students from Scarborough’s Dr. Norman Bethune C.I. — who won the 2009 competition — will represent Canada in Singapore. The winners of next Wednesday’s Canadian championship will attend the world finals in 2011 at a site to be determined.

For more information, go to f1inschools.ca.