Wesley Fink

Mr. Williams
Stem, 3/4
11/7/17

Trebuchet Proof of Efficacy

For our project we were tasked with building a functioning Trebuchet that was no larger than 1
meter in any direction. It also had to be able to fire a clay ball over a few meters To build ours
we used the following materials:
56 cm by 28 cm by 2 cm Wooden Base
2 29.5 cm by by 4 cm by 8 cm Legs to hold the rod
12 cm by 0.5 cm by 0.5 cm Rod
46 cm by 4 cm by 3 cm Arm
5 2.54 cm Screws, 4 to attach legs to the base, 1 to hold in rubber bands
6 medium sized Rubber Bands
2 Size 64 Rubber Bands

After building the initial design of the project, us and other people in our class were
tasked with modifying the machine and finding what worked and didn't work in the project. Here
are 8 modifications we made to improve our project:

I.hUsing Rubber Bands over Weights

We found that using a rubber band as a counterbalance is more effective than a weight. We
found that with a 2 pound weight as the counterbalance the projectile the ball on average going
5.6 meters. On the other hand, with rubber bands the ball would go 19 meters. This is a 239%
increase! This is because the rubber bands cause more kinetic energy allal the pullback caused by
the rubber bands.

II. The Best Mass For The Ball

It was discovered that a 10 gram ball is best for the projectile.The evidence is a 10 gram ball the
group found it went 7 meters. A 30 gram and 60 gram ball went 2 meters and 0 meters
respectively. This is because of the idea that the amount of force an object has depends on the
weight of the mass.

III. No Stopper Is Better

A trebuchet with a stopper is less effective than a trebuchet with it. The evidence found by one of
the groups states that a trebuchet with a stopper goes on average 2.07 meters. On the other hand
without a stopper it went about 3.30 meters. This can be justified since no stopper maximizes the
distance of the mass.

IV. The Best Length Of The String

For the string attached to the mass, it was found the best length for the string is 30 centimeters.
During the experiment the group found that with a 20 cm string the ball only goes 1.25 meters
and a 40 cm ball goes 2.25 cm. But with a 30 cm ball it goes 3.5 cm making it by far the furthest.
The reasoning for this is the longer it is the more distance it goes, but if its too long it gets
dragged down by friction. 30 cm is a nice median.
V. The Best Angle For The Nail
The nail rests at the end of the arm, and the best angle for it is 65 degrees. It was found that with
a 92 degree angle goes 11 meters and a 60 degree angle goes 13.5 meters. However with a 65
degree angle the projectile went 16.5 meters. This is since a higher angle wastes energy yet a
lower angle doesnt give the ball enough time to launch. This is why we decided to use this and
changed the nail from 40 to 65.

VI. The Best Rubber Band Size

It was discovered that 64 rubber bands are best. While we still use other size rubber bands in our
design, the size 64 bands are the backbone of the counterbalance. It was found that 2 size 64
rubber bands went 14.8 meters almost 10 meters farther than most bands. This is because it
allows the maximum potential energy.

VII. Ideal Leg Distance

It was discovered that at the less space between arm and the legs the better. A cm gap between
the two went 14 cm and a 3 cm gap only went about 11.8 cm. This is because with less space
more potential energy can be converted into kinetic energy. This is why we took about 1 inch off
the gap.

VIII. Size And Shape Of Projectile

Data suggests the size and shape of the ball dont matter, just the weight of the projectile. When
a sphere and cube shapes of the same weight were tested, the sphere on average went 0.5 meters
and the cube on average went 0.5 meters also. This is since the shape is not one of the factors in
the air resistance. We kept this in mind when we constructed our mass.

Trebuchet: Rubber Bands v.s Weights Clear Paragraph

Rubber bands launch projectiles further than weights. During our Trebuchet Experiment
we were tasked with finding if either rubber bands or weights launch our projectile further. In
order to answer this question we tested both. First we attached a 2 pound weight to our arm and
launched it a few times. On average it went 5.6 meters. This is a far distance but we wanted to
see if the rubber band would go further. So, we then attached 8 rubber bands that connect the
arm and base. This on average went about 19 meters. This is a 239% increase. It goes farther
since with rubber bands it has more kinetic energy. With the weights the only force attaching on
it is gravitational acceleration (9.8 m/s^2).

Statistics About Our Machine:

Value Equation Our Data Meaning

Mass of our projectile N/A 10 grams or 0.1 This is the amount

kilograms of matter in our
projectile

Horizontal Distance N/A 19 meters This is the distance

the ball covers as it
goes horizontally

Time In Air N/A 1.28 seconds The ball spent 0.64

seconds rising and
0.64 seconds failing

Vertical Distance d=1/2at^2 2.01 meters This is how high in

the air the ball goes

Horizontal Velocity v= d/t 14.84 meters per This is the rate at

second which the ball goes
horizontally

Vertical Velocity v= at 12.5 meters per This is the rate at

second which the ball goes
vertically

Total Velocity a^2+b^2=c^2 19.4 meters per This is the total

second velocity of the mass
which accounts for
both horizontal and
vertical velocity

Spring Constant k=f/d 140 n/m This is the tendency

of the spring to go
back to its original
form.

Initial Spring Potential PE=1/2kx^2 2.8J The amount of

Energy staring elastic
energy an object has

Kinetic Energy KE=1/2mv^2 1.8J This is the amount

of energy that is
propelling the
projectile

Energy Converted % of PE transferred 67% The energy that was

 into KE lost was lost to
thermal energy, such
as friction.

Why Our Trebuchet?

Finally, why should you get our trebuchet over others. Firstly, our trebuchet goes fast and far. At
maximum our trebuchet goes almost 30 meters, and on average it goes about 22 meters. It also
goes fairly fast for its distance only taking about 1.28 seconds on average for the projectile to be
fired and land.