Fire Away!
Our Trebuchet:
Our Assignment:
Our assignment was to create a trebuchet that would launch a small piece of clay the furthest distance possible. It was important to keep our trebuchet relatively small, but to still have a long launch distance. The dimensions of the trebuchet must not exceed 1 meter, or about 3 square feet.
Our Design:
In the making of our trebuchet, we found that having the release nail at 60 degrees forwards made the projectile go the farthest. We have our projectile attached to an 8 cm long string, which is attached to a finishing nail at the end of our trebuchet. When the nail was set at 90 degrees, it only went 3.3 meters. That is not very far compared to what we could’ve gotten. After many trials, we found that having it at 60 degrees forwards was the best angle because it went a total of 9.8 meters. 9.8 meters was our best distance so far, and every other nail angle left us with a shorter distance. All in all, my team found that having the release nail at an angle of 60° was the most successful.
Calculations:
Advantages:
Our design is/has:
The reflection is included into the vehicle page because we used the same group for both projects.
Our assignment was to create a trebuchet that would launch a small piece of clay the furthest distance possible. It was important to keep our trebuchet relatively small, but to still have a long launch distance. The dimensions of the trebuchet must not exceed 1 meter, or about 3 square feet.
Our Design:
- 58x32cm base
- 6 rubber bands, in links of two
- 1 spring
- 57 cm release arm
- Axel- 30 cm high
- Axel- 1 cm in diameter, 12 cm long, wooden dowel
- Two 2x4 wooden planks
- Added 6 rubber bands in 3 chains of 2, because more potential energy will ultimately lead to more kinetic energy
- Tests were done to prove that the shape of the projectile doesn’t matter, so we used a simple circular shape
- We changed our projectile so that it would weigh 22.5g because more mass means more PE, which means more KE.
- Tests were done to prove that the legs and arm must be stable because stable legs allows potential energy to build up.
- We are using rubber bands instead of weights because the rubber bands have tension, which means more speed.
- Our release string is 8 inches and we are using this specific length because it releases the projectile at the exact correct angle to get the farthest distance.
- We changed our release nail angle to 60 degrees forwards because it releases the projectile at the correct angle of about 40 degrees.
- Our arm has about a 1:1 load to effort ratio, which balances the arm, allowing a further launch distance.
In the making of our trebuchet, we found that having the release nail at 60 degrees forwards made the projectile go the farthest. We have our projectile attached to an 8 cm long string, which is attached to a finishing nail at the end of our trebuchet. When the nail was set at 90 degrees, it only went 3.3 meters. That is not very far compared to what we could’ve gotten. After many trials, we found that having it at 60 degrees forwards was the best angle because it went a total of 9.8 meters. 9.8 meters was our best distance so far, and every other nail angle left us with a shorter distance. All in all, my team found that having the release nail at an angle of 60° was the most successful.
Calculations:
- Mass of Projectile- 0.011kg The small piece of clay that our trebuchet launches weighs 0.011kg.
- Horizontal Distance- 36 meters Our projectile launched the farthest distance of 36 meters.
- Time in Air- 2.8 seconds When we timed the launch, it took almost three seconds for the projectile to land.
- Vertical Distance- 9.6 meters
- Horizontal Velocity- 12.85 m/s
- Vertical Velocity-13.72 m/s
- Total Velocity- 18.804 m/s
- Spring Constant- 525 N/m
- Angle of Release- 45 degrees
- Initial Spring Potential Energy- 38.9ᴊ
- Kinetic Energy of Ball- 1.945ᴊ
- Percent Energy Converted- 5%
Advantages:
Our design is/has:
- A simple machine
- Easy to use and work
- Consistent horizontal distance
- Sturdy and strong
- Correct modifications made to get ideal distance
- Two types of springs, rubber bands and a normal spring, for a greater distance
The reflection is included into the vehicle page because we used the same group for both projects.