Post 2: Test Day

Today was test day- a day where we could try out our trebuchets and make adjustments to make them even better.
Janelle's and my trebuchet worked really smoothly. First we worked on distance. We loaded it up with 30 pounds and it consistently went around 40 meters. We were very happy with that considering it only needed to go 25. We didn't change anything on the trebuchet for distance.
Next we tried for accuracy- hitting a hula hoop at 15 meters. We took all our weights out and didn't pull the arm down as far when we loaded it. We were consistently within a foot of the hula hoop and made it inside the hoop once. We were changing how low the arm was and how tight we were pulling the sling. This affected the distance but it was inconsistent in how it changed.  We didn't make any major changes. Everything worked very well and we were very happy with the results

Janelle and I and our trebuchet on test day.

Loading up our trebuchet.

Our trebuchet all set and ready to launch. This was for distance- the arm is pulled all the way down.

The trebuchet ready to launch. This was for accuracy- the arm is pulled only partially down.

Post 1

In physics class we made a cardboard trebuchet. This trebuchet had to hurl a wooden "marble" as close to 10 meters as we could get it, using washers as a counterweight.
The marble was a projectile- experiencing no other forces other than gravity. To get as far as possible we had to ensure that the release angle was at forty five degrees- which ensured the furthest distance.
In our design we had to make sure there was no friction that would slow down the action of the arm as it swung around. This would slow down the speed of the marble as it left the sling and therefore decrease its distance.  Also along with friction, we had to make sure that when the bucket swung down that it wasn't hitting a support leg which would also slow down the release action of the marble.
To make sure that the marble was released properly we had to sew our sling in such a way that the marble would be held in it but at the same time be able to be released easily.
In order to increase the distance we added more weight to the bucket. This added weight caused the bucket to drop and swing the arm faster. This increased speed allowed the marble to be let go with more force and travel further.
Environmental factors that we had to deal with were gravity and air resistance. These we couldn't change but they affected our marble's flight. Air resistance was hardly noticeable but it was there. Gravity was an unavoidable force as it pulled our marble to the floor.
 Performance factors were the angle of release, the counterweight, and alignment. These we could change to increase the performance of our trebuchet. The best angle of release was forty five degrees because it had equal x and y values that would cause it to go further. The counterweight we used was washers. The more we increased the weight, the faster the bucket would fall and the faster our marble was released. To get the trebuchet to go as far as possible we used as much weight as we could. To make it as accurate as possible, we took washers out until the trebuchet was shooting the right distance. Alignment was very important. We had to make sure that everything was running smoothly and nothing was rubbing or hitting as it was throwing the marble. The rubbing or hitting would cause friction which would slow down the arm's swing.

Our trebuchet as it would look after we released the marble.

Another angle of our trebuchet in the position after it would've shot the marble.