Matthew Mackan 7th Grade Mr. Gorden 12/8/14 The Ping Pong Catapult Matthew Mackan 7th Grade Mr. Gorden 12/8/14

Question How far will the ball go when launched from a catapult?

Background The reason I picked this experiment is because I am very interested and excited about physics. Especially projectile motion using a Catapult.

Variables Independent: Dependent: Controlled:

Hypothesis The distance the ball goes is related to how far you pull the arm back and the launch angle.

Materials 1 Catapult Kit 1 Ping Pong Ball 4 Rubber Bands

Procedure Clamp the Catapult to a firm surface like a table. Set the setting to the first hole. Put the ball in the ball holder. Measure how far you put the box away from the Catapult. Set the arm to the first angle setting. Let go of the arm. Measure how far the ball traveled. Repeat the steps until the ball lands in the box.

Data 60 90° 120° 3Ft. 4Ft. 6Ft.

Graph

Conclusion The question asked how far the ball will go when launched from catapult. For the experiment i used a pin, a catapult arm, rubber bands, setting circle, a ping pong ball, and a ball holder. After the experiment was done i measured how far the ball went when it landed in the box using a measuring tape. I found out that when you pull the arm back to 120° it lands perfectly in the box. Therefore my hypothesis was proven correct. If i had to conduct this experiment again i would use different sizes of boxes for my experiment to see what kinds of shapes the ball can make it into. The End