HOW TO BUILD A CATAPULT

WE STARTED WITH A DREAM…CALCULATING AND

RESEARCHING NOTHING…

Jake and his

yellow shirt!

Catapult I

5

4

3

THE CATAPU LT SHO UL D HAVE THRO WN 150FT….

It went 10 ft.

Science is hard…….

Hmmm, maybe we should’ve done the math first?

Velocity=13.626 m/secPotential Energy=0.6026 joules (Predicted Distance Traveled=66.29 feetForce=18 poundsKinetic Energy= 0.9113 joules (actual distance traveled)=100.24 feetAcceleration=3.125 ft/sec

Here’s our numbers we crunched….

AND HERE IS THE N EW PRO GRESS WE MADE…

Increased the strength to 18lbs…

Switched from wood to PVC to lose weight on our throwing arms…

Moved tower to adjust release angle from 88 deg to 45 deg, and then to an optimum 70 degrees.

Lastly, we added another bolt to the backboard to create a fast release mechanism.

Shots through changes

FEET

Are you ready for……

THE PENETRATOR????