Molly Thomas

12 November 2015
Honors Conceptual Physics Period 6
Projectile Motion: Catapults
Introduction:
The objective for the catapult project was to learn how projectile motion works in real life. It was
an opportunity to build an accurate catapult that could launch marshmallows across the room. It used the
same equations and variables from worksheets, but more hands on approach. The project was helpful in
seeing how the physics concepts work and affect everyday life. Physics is not just a book but something
that happens all around us.
Catapults have been around forever and have been used by Greeks, Romans, and Chinese in
warfare. The first documented catapult was used in 399 B.C. by Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian.
Catapults were originally used to increase the range and power of a crossbow. More modern catapults
were used in England in 1216 during the Siege of the Dover, when the French crossed the Channel and
were able to fire catapults on English land. During the Middle Ages war was very common which made
catapults popular. They were used to launch stones, darts, pots of fire, quick lime, burning tar, and many
other missiles at fortified castes, city walls, and soldiers. They were part of the first acts of Biological
Warfare because they could launch diseased bodies into towns. Catapults were used a lot in warfare until
885 AD when new defense systems disabled the catapults and they became ineffective.
I chose my design because I thought that it had the capacity to go at least fifteen meters. The
design I chose was made out of wooden dial rods, masking tape, hot glue, and a Gatorade lid. I used these
materials so that it would be strong and not fall apart while I was using it. I liked the design because it
seemed simple and effective. It would not take hours to build and would still launch a marshmallow
fifteen meters. I liked how the rod was attached to the other with a rubber band which would make
tension to shoot the marsh mellow far. I am happy with how my catapult turned out and satisfied with
the design.
Many physics concepts and equations are used in the operation of a catapult. When an object is
launched into the air it will land however far away because of the measure of the angle of the catapult
and the initial velocity in the x and y direction. The horizontal motion and the vertical motion are
independent of each other. To find the initial velocity in the x direction by dividing displacement by time,

= . To find the initial velocity in the y direction use the first kinematic equation, = + .
Final velocity in the y direction is equal to 0 because the marshmallow is at the top of its motion. So for
time it is half of the time it takes so the marshmallow will be at the top of its motion. Acceleration is
always -9.8 m/s. The final step is to substitute for the variables and solve for initial velocity in the x
direction. To find the initial velocity use this equation, 0 = 2 + 2 . It combines the initial velocity
in both the x and y direction to find the initial velocity. To find the average initial velocity find the sum of
the three initial velocities and divide by the number of terms added. The catapult involved many similar
equations and concepts from physics and projectile motion like initial velocity in the x direction, initial
velocity in the y direction, gravity, symmetry, initial velocity, and average velocity.

Conclusion:
How your project worked and possible sources of errors, what you learned from the project, and
at least two real life examples of projectiles whose landing spots must be carefully predicted
Missiles and Aircraft carriers

My catapult project worked pretty well, it was able to shoot a marshmallow 4 meters and it did
not break. It did not go the full 5 meters probably because the rubber band was not tied tight enough.
More pressure on the arm would have launched the arm faster and increased the launch speed of the
marshmallow allowing it to travel farther in the same time. Another thing that could have prevented the
catapult from launching the marshmallow the full 5 meters was the angle at which the marshmallow was
launched at. There are two things that I could have done to change that. One change the height of the
wooden dial rod that stops the arm. Another thing that I could have changed was to prop the catapult up
on an angled surface such as a binder to change the overall angle while not changing the angle that the
marshmallow is launched at.
I learned a lot about projectile motion from this project. It is very hard to make an object fly
through the air and predict exactly where it will land but it can be accomplished with precise planning and
building. I did not realize how different angles change the shape of the path projectile motion. Some
make the marshmallow go high up in the air but do not go very far forward and some make the
marshmallow go low to the ground and very far. It was hard to find the perfect angle that went high
enough in the air and traveled long enough. Doing a hands on activity helped me to understand more
about the physics concepts that we had been learning about.
Two real life examples of projectiles whose landing spots must be carefully predicted are missiles
and airplanes. When missiles are launched it is important to determine exactly where they will land so
that they will not miss the target and accidently hit a town or a building and kill people it was not
intended to hit. When an airplane is launched off an aircraft carrier an underground catapult is used to
launch the plane because it cannot get enough speed on the short runway on its own. It is important to
calculate exactly how to launch the plane so that it does not crash into the water when it takes off the
runway. It would be bad to sink your own plane in the ocean because of a math error. Projectiles are used
all the time in real life and it is important to be able to predict their landing spots.

Resources:
http://www.explorabox.org/activities/engineering/how-to-build-a-catapult/
http://www.explorabox.org/activities/engineering/how-to-build-a-catapult/catapult-science/
https://sites.google.com/site/physicsofcatapults/home/history-of-catapults