Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi everyone,

My project for my physics class is to build a catapult. My teacher has not given out the requirements for it, so I'm just researching some ways to build a catapult out of accessible materials. Anyone have any ideas? Also what part of a catapult affects how far a catapult launches something?Thanks in advance. =)

Hi ahmee.

Here are some useful web sites to get you started on your Project:
Keyword:
catapults
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catapults


http://www.howstuffworks.com
Keyword:
catapults
http://science.howstuffworks.com/question127.htm
http://science.howstuffworks.com/framed ... plans.html

Hope this helps.

Good Luck!

There are also a number of kits and plans available for building catapults that you can find by googling for "catapult plans". One example result is: http://www.trebuchet.com/plans.html

One thing you'll want to do is get a better definition for what the teacher means by "catapult". While there is a technical definition of a "catapult" that is pretty specific, colloquially this term covers a number of very different devices, from trebuchets to, well, catapults.

This can be a fun project. Just be careful, these things can cause serious injuries and break windows.

Do a web searcn on both catapult and trebuchet.

Robert Reavis

robertreavis wrote:This can be a fun project. Just be careful, these things can cause serious injuries and break windows.

Do a web searcn on both catapult and trebuchet.

Robert Reavis

My friend did a project on a trebuchet and tested how movement (he put it on a platform with wheels) affected the trajectory.