The purpose of this
experiment was to determine how the mass of a projectile would affect distance
traveled.
I became interested in this idea when I saw a man using a trebuchet to launch cars and pianos, and I wondered how far I could launch something out of a catapult.
The information gained from
this experiment could be useful to the army, hunters, sport players, etc. The
information would be useful to anybody who is involved in propelling a
projectile far distances.
My original hypothesis was
that the projectile will go the farthest with the smallest amount of weight.
The constants in this study were:
• Trebuchet catapult
• Angle of catapult
• Location for launch
• String used to launch washers
The manipulated variable was the mass of the projectile.
The responding variable was the distance the catapult shot the projectile.
To measure the responding variable, I used a metric tape measure.
QUANTITY
|
ITEM DESCRIPTION
|
1
|
Trebuchet Catapult
|
3
|
1/2 in. washers
|
1
|
Metric tape measure
|
1
|
22.86cm string
|
1. Gather
trebuchet catapult parts and all of the materials.
2. Assemble trebuchet catapult.
3. Set up catapult on flat ground.
4. Load the catapult with one of the washers.
5. Launch the projectile.
6. Measure how far the projectile was launched with a metric tape measure.
7. Record the information.
8. Repeat steps 4-7 nine more times using the same weight projectile.
9. Repeat steps 4-8 with a different weight washer and then another after that.
The original purpose of
this experiment was to determine how the mass of a projectile would affect
distance traveled.
The results of the experiment were that adding more and more weight each time reduced the distance the washers traveled by about half of the trial before.
My original hypothesis was
that the projectile will go the farthest with the smallest amount of weight.
The results indicate that this hypothesis should be accepted because the 16.4-gram weight, the lightest used, flew the farthest.
After thinking about the results of this experiment, I wonder if the length of string that is used to hold the projectile would matter when the projectile is fired.
If I were to conduct this project again I would do a similar experiment but with many more trials and a bigger catapult.
Researched
by ---- Avery M
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