Name: ______

Catapult Lab Report Guidelines

*You need to take a DIGITAL PICTURE of your project for your lab report or you will have to draw it.

Format: Must be typed, and double spaced, bold headings and NO PRONOUNS!!!

Title: Summarize this project in a phrase. “Catapult Project” is a bad title! Who, what, when, where, why!

Introduction:

  • Write a one paragraph description that clearly explains what catapults are and how this project relates to kinematics. You might have to do some research here. What can you figure out about the flight of your object just by timing its air time and the distance traveled. You might want to think of referring to your equations here to determine what we will be able to calculate.
  • This should be in your own words!!! Not copied and pasted from Uncle Jim Bob’s Catapult Website!!!

Purpose/objective/hypothesis:

  • Explain the logic behind the design you chose. What did you take into consideration when building your project? Be specific here. Make sure to refer to your original project sheet in the “Things To Consider” section.
  • Did you allow for any alterations of your project during the competition to compete for different events?
  • Discuss any problems that you will need to overcome or foresee occurring in the running of this experiment and how will you overcome them in your design. What potential problems will you have at launch day?
  • Create a hypothesis predicting how far your projectile will travel (in METERS!) in the length competition.

Materials:

  • List IN BULLETS all materials used in the assembly of this project.
  • Be reasonably precise in the amounts and dimensions of the materials used so that someone could take this list and assemble you device themselves.

Procedure for assembly:

  • Numerically list the steps for assembling this device as if it were an instruction manual.
  • Be sure to include a drawing/diagram of your device when it is completed or a digital photograph.

Data (3 Sections):

-Data Table: In a TALBLE, list your data collected (length and time in air) for each event and the net difference between your hypothesis and your data collected for the length competition.

-Calculations: You will use your data to construct a kinematic model of the motion of your object. You will be using your length and time values collected to determine: height, initial velocity (in x and y direction, and actual), final velocity (in x and y direction and final), and launch angle. In order to do this you will have to split the event (the launching of your object) into its component vectors (the x-direction and the y-directions). Make sure to show all of your work, and you MUST use Microsoft equation editor for this part!!!

-Kinematic Model (basically a drawing of the launch scenario with all variables labeled): On a piece of graph paper, you will diagram out your catapult’s trajectory and kinematic variables you solved for. This model should include: time, length, height, , , , , ,launch angle.

Conclusions:

  • Have an introductory sentence.
  • Make sure you restate your hypothesis and discuss your results explaining why it was correct or not.
  • Explain why your device worked as expected or did not.
  • Be sure to include any problems encountered and any unexpected surprises that may have occurred during the running of the experiment.
  • What could you do to make your project better

References (mostly for the introduction section):

Be sure to include the source of any information you received throughout the construction and implementation of your device such as the names of individuals, books, periodicals, Internet, etc. that you consulted.