MINI LAUNCHER (4)

LAB REPORT # 5
Group 5-A
CE’19 Sec-B
M. Abubakar Khan (285617)
Raja Dilawar Riaz (297151)
Usama Majid (289280)
Abdul Rahman (285519)
Raja Soban Gulzar (286136)
 ABSTRACT
There are multiple and diverse parts of this whole experiment which is performed with
mini launcher, plain white paper and trace papers pasted on a long board. The first
experiment performed was The Projectile Path in which the relation between the
vertical and horizontal distance when the target is moved instead of the launcher. The
experiment dealt with how bringing the target close to the launcher effects the range.

THEORY
LAUNCH AT ANY ANGLE Between -45° and 90°:
Balls can be launched at any angle from 0 to 90 degrees measured above the horizontal.
The magnetic piston holds the steel ball in position for launch at any angle from 0 to 45
degrees measured below the horizontal. The angle is easily adjusted using the thumb
screw. The built-in protractor and plumb bob on the side of the launcher give a
convenient and accurate way of determining the angle of inclination.

FIXED ELEVATION INDEPENDENT OF ANGLE:

The Mini Launcher can be mounted so that the barrel pivots at the muzzle end and the
elevation of the ball as it leaves the barrel does not change as the angle is varied.

REPEATABLE RESULTS:
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 There is no spin on the ball since the piston keeps the ball from rubbing on the
walls as it travels up the barrel. The sturdy base can be secured to a table with a C-
clamp or a Large Table Clamp (not included) so there is very little recoil. The trigger is
pulled with a lanyard to minimize jerking.

THREE RANGE SETTINGS:

There are three ranges from which to choose. They are approximately 0.5-meter,
1.0 meter, and 2.0 meters, when the angle is 45 degrees and measured from table top
to table top.

COMPONENTS:
1- Launcher and Base which is assembled.
2- 16mm Steel Balls.
3- String to pull trigger.
4- Collision Attachment.
5- Pushrod.
6-Manual.
Reference (http://yifindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Mini-Launcher-Manual-
ME-6825B.pdf)
Definition:
A projectile is any object projected into space by the exertion of a force and the
curved path followed by the body when projected at an angle from the horizontal
axis is called trajectory. A projectile move at a constant speed in the horizontal
direction while experiencing a constant acceleration of 9.8m/s2 downwards in the
vertical direction.

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Figure:

Horizontal motion of the projectile:

The horizontal component of the motion of the projectile always remains
constant and the position at any time t in the horizontal direction is given by
X=Vix t
Vertical motion of projectile:
The vertical component of the velocity changes constantly because gravity plays
its role in changing the vertical component constantly. The equation that predicts
the vertical velocity at time “t” is given by
Vy=Viy+at
And position on y-axis
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𝒚=(𝒗𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽)𝒕− 2 gt 2
Time of flight:
Time of flight is the time covered by the body during the projectile motion. It is
given by
(2 viSin ɵ)
Time of flight=
g

Maximum Height:
The maximum height achieved by the projectile is given by
(vi 2 sin2 θ)
H=
2g
3
Range of Projectile:

Range of projectile is the horizontal distance covered by the body. It is given by

(vi 2 sin 2 ɵ)
R=
g
It should be noted that if the starting and ending point of the projectile is not the
same then the above-mentioned equations are modified accordingly.

Percentage Error:
Measured Value−Theoretical Value
Percentage Error=
Theoretical Value
×𝟏𝟎𝟎

Projectile Path:
The purpose of this experiment is to find how the vertical distance the ball drops
is related to the horizontal distance the ball travels when launched horizontally from a
table. The horizontal distance between the muzzle of the Launcher and the ball’s point
of impact was the range of the ball, denoted by x:
x=v o∗t (1)
The initial speed of the ball as it left the launcher was v oand t was its time of flight.
When the ball was shot horizontally the time of flight was determined by:
x
t= (2)
vo
The vertical distance y through which the ball fell in time t is given by,
y=0.5gt2 (3)
Where g is acceleration due to gravity. Substituting the value of t in (3) we obtain the
following relation:
g
y=( 2
)x 2
2 vo
When y was plotted against x a straight line was obtained whose slope was equal to:
g
m=
2 v o2

Tools required:
Following tools are required for the experiment:
 Mini Launcher and steel ball.

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 Measuring tape or meter stick.
 Carbon paper.
 White paper.
 Movable vertical target board (Must reach from floor to muzzle).
 Graph paper.

PROCEDURE
Following steps were taken to perform the experiment:
 The Mini Launcher was Clamped on the stand and was made to face the
board.
 The angle of the Mini Launcher was adjusted to Zero Degrees so that the ball
could be launched horizontally.
 The vertical distance between the muzzle of the launcher and the floor was
measured and recorded.
 The horizontal distance between the muzzle of the launcher and the target
was determined.
 A test shot was fired at a long-range setting to determine the initial position of
the vertical target.
 The Board was covered with white paper and carbon paper was taped on it.
 The ball was shot and the position where the ball hit the target was noted.
 The target was then moved 5 cm closer to the launcher.
 Steps 4 and onwards were repeated until the ball missed the plank.

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 TABLES AND GRAPHS
Following data was calculated while performing the experiment:
Trial No. x (cm) y (cm) x2 (cm)
1. 211.6 116.2 44774.5
2. 201.6 107.6 40642.5
3. 191.6 94.6 36710.5
4. 181.6 88.6 32978.5
5. 171.6 76.4 29446.5
6. 161.6 66.4 26114.5

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 DATA ANALYSIS
Following calculations were performed based on the data gathered from the graphs and
experiment:
Vertical Distance of Launcher=116.2cm
The Slope of graph=m= 0.0026 cm-1= 0.26 m-1
g
Initial speed from slope (measured)= v o=
2y
√ 2m
= 4.34 m/sec

Time of flight; t =
√
g
= 0.49 sec
x
Initial speed (Calculated); v o= = 431.8 cm/sec = 4.31 m/sec
t
Percent Difference = 0.7% error.

DISCUSSION AND
CONCLUSION
In the above experiment we observed how the horizontal range of the ball (when
launched from the table) varies with the height from which the ball was launched.
Our results were compared with other groups. The purpose of discussion was to
find out that what we have done better or worse than others and how experiment s can
be made more reliable. They major cause of error uprising was found to be parallax. For
instance, the comparison of our results with results of other groups showed a
substantial overlap and so as the inconsistency, found, was more or less identical.
This shows that experiment was close to attainment.