Proof of Efficacy of Trebuchet

The goal of our project was to build a catapult of ar a trebuchet. With this
machine we had to launch a projectile as far as possible. While staying within the
restrictions. Which were, it must be reusable for regardless of how many times you use
it. It must have a base that touches the ground, two legs that hold up and a lever arm
that has an effort and a load. The trebuchet of catapult must be easily portable by any
person and have no measure over one meter long. It also must not be able to fire itself.
Then with our catapult that met all of the restrictions we had to test a single variable. We
decided to test the different weights in the projectile that we were launching. We tested
many different weights. Then we presented our findings to the class. Then we modified
our trebuchet using the class findings.
3) When sharing data with the class we decided to make modifications due to other
people's research.
The first modification we made was we changed or string length to exactly 20 cm
long, or 40 cm total.We changed the string length so that it would not be too long
and act like a parachute, or be too short and not be able to be released. This was
the perfect medium between the two.
Rubber bands- we originally had six rubber bands. After finding out that went
farther with more rubber bands. We added 10 more rubber bands. Which made
for a total of 16 rubber bands. This modification made a huge difference in how
far the projectile went.

 Nail angle- Every time we would launch the projectile when the nail would hit the
ground and bend the nail. When originally testing sometimes we would forget to
bend the nail back and it made a huge difference in how far it went. However,
after finding out that the best angle to shoot the projectile from was 0 degrees.
This was also a made a crucial difference in the distance that the projectile went.
Height of axle- Though this was the first thought that we had to make the axle
height as high as possible. This makes the release point higher to add to make
the ball have a longer falling. This increases the distance by a small amount.
Rubber band angle- The best angle for the rubber bands to be stretched to was
90 degrees. This is because when the most amount of force is going into straight
up and down so that the force is not going into an angle. This way it gets the
most potential energy.
Arm ratio- We found that an 2:1 ratio is the best for our lever arm. This because
we have a greater mechanical advantage that is greater while the rubber bands
are still pulling enough to make the arm spin.
Finishing nail vs. regular nail- A finishing nail is better because it has no head so
the string can easily escape the head of the nail. The finishing nail also does not
have to be at an angle while a regular nail requires an angle so that the string
can detach from the nail.
The ball travels furthest when it weighs 10 grams. It goes slower as it gets
heavier and lighter from 10 grams. We were testing what the best weight for a clay ball
when launching off of a trebuchet. We tested four different weights of balls; 5 grams, 10
grams, 15 grams, and 20 grams. We made balls of clay with different weights with the
same length string attached. THen we took three trial runs of each; to collect our data.
We found that the average distance that the 5 gram ball went was 27.5 meters. While
the average distance that the 10 gram ball went was 36 meters. The 15 gram ball went
an average of 28.6 meters. The 20 gram ball went an average of 28.6 meters; the
same as the 15 gram ball. The evidence shows that the 10 gram ball went farther on
average by a lot. The test were also a lot easier to run when we had a lighter ball.

Another piece of data that we found was that when launching the balls the lighter balls
tended to go straighter, while the heavier balls tend to ended up on the side as if they
had less control. This piece of evidence shows that the smaller balls were more affected
by air resistance. While the larger balls had more inertia so they were harder to put into
motion.

Concepts

Metric System

Imperial System

Explanation

Distance

59.3 m

194.5 ft

How far our ball

went

Time in air

3.13 s

3.13 s

The time it took to

hit the ground

Velocity horizontal

18.9 m/s

42.3 mph

How fast it went

horizontally with no
vertical component

Velocity Vertical

15.3 m/s

34.2 mph

How fast the ball

went vertically with
no horizontal
component

Velocity total at
beginning

44 m/s

98.4 mph

For one second the

ball this is how fast
the ball was going

Average Velocity
total

24.3 m/s

54.3 mph

The average speed

of the ball

Release angle

20 degrees

20 degrees

The angle that the

ball was released
at

Spring Potential

300 N/m

221 lb/ft

How much energy

the rubber bands
could have

Spring Potential
Energy

16.335 J

16.335 J

How much much

energy the ball
could have without
friction

Kinetic Energy

1.33 J

1.33 J

How much energy

the ball actually
has. The energy is
lost because of
friction

Distance Vertical

12m

39.3 ft

How far in the air

the ball went