ProjectileLabBasicTeacherVersion

(Grades58)
Inthislabyouwillshootachopstickacrosstheroomwitharubberbandandmeasurehow different variables affectthedistanceitflies.Youwilluseconcepts ofkineticandpotential energytounderstandhowthechopstickispropelled.

MathPrerequisites:
Basicarithmetic,decimals,ratios

Keyconcepts:
A projectile isaflyingobjectgivenaninitialpush.Launchingaprojectileusually involves converting potential energy to kineticenergy.The distancea projectile travelsdependsonhowfastitfliesandhowmuchtimeittakestohittheground. Conservationofenergy.Whenyoustretcharubberband,youstoreelasticpotential energy.Thefartheryoustretch,themoreelasticenergyisstored.Thiscanthenbe convertedinto kineticenergy (energyassociatedwithmotion)tomakeaprojectile fly.Themorekineticenergyithas,thefasteritflies. Heavier objects with a given amount of kinetic energy move slower than lighter objectswiththesameamountofenergy.

Materials:
Note: Itisstronglyrecommendedtotestoutthelabinadvancetomakesurethelauncher (basket,chopstick,rubberband)andbalanceworkasexpected(ie:chopstickslideseasilythrough basket,rubberbandfitsaroundbasket,scaleisproperlybalanced,etc.) Foreachgroup(of24students)youwillneedthefollowing: 1woodenchopstick;thetailendofthechopstickshouldbemarkedat1cmintervals (upto5cm) o Ifchopstickissolightthatitfliestoofartomeasureinthespaceavailable, thenaddacoupleofmetalnutstothepointyendofthechopsticktomakeit heavier 1basketwithholes o holesmustbelargeenoughforchopsticktoslidethrougheasilywithout rubbingagainstthesides o basketmustbesmallenoughforarubberbandtofitaroundwithoutbeingtoo overstretched 1meterstickortapemeasure 1rudimentarybalance,consistingofawoodenorcardboardbarwithaholeatthe centerand2holesequidistantfromthecenter,withaZiplocbagattachedtoeachedge hole(note:somewoodenrulersalreadyhaveholesconvenientlypunchedformaking suchabalance).Makesurethebalanceworkswellbycomparingtwoidenticalobjects (eg:2pennies)andseeingifitiseven.Ifnecessary,addducttapeorsimilartoone endtobalanceitout. 1rubberband(standard5mmsizeorsimilar) severalgramsofPlayDohormodelingclay stackoftextbooksorotherpropstoincreasethelaunchheight aflattableordeskofreasonableheight,withatleast~3mfreespaceinfrontofitfor launchingtheprojectile ideally,1calculatorperstudent;ataminimum,1pergroup

Safetyandaccommodationnotes:
Theprojectilewillalwaysflybelowchestheight,butiftherearemultiplegroups usingthesameshootingrange,thestudentsshouldstillbewarnedtobecarefuland nothitsomeonewiththeprojectile. Eachgroupneedsatleastonestudent(orhelper)capableofmovingaroundtofetch theprojectileandmeasurethedistancetothetargets.Predictions,weighing,and launchingtheprojectilecanbedonewithoutstudentsneedingtoleavetheirchairs.

IntroductoryMiniLecture:
In this lab we will study the motion of projectiles. A projectile is any object that is given an initial push and then flies by itself. For example, a cannon-ball shot out of a cannon is a projectile. So is a baseball thrown by a pitcher. Can you think of some other examples of projectiles? (Ex: bullet from a gun, arrow from a bow, spitball, rock from a slingshot). Specifically, were going to be interested in how far a projectile flies before it hits the ground. Why does an arrow fly farther than a spitball and a bullet fly farther than a cannon-ball? In the lab, we will be using this launcher-setup to launch a chopstick projectile with a rubber band (quick demo). What variables do you think will affect how far the chopstick flies? Remember, a variable is something we can play with to change the outcome of the experiment. (Some variables that might come up are the strength of the rubber band, the height of the table, the size and weight of the chopstick, how far the rubber band is pulled back.) Were going to test three of the variables you suggested today. To better understand whats going on with a projectile, it is helpful to use the concept of energy. Energy is, more or less, the ability to make things move. A moving object has kinetic energy (which is why it can make other things move if it bumps into them). The faster an object moves, the more kinetic energy it has (a fast baseball can break a window, two cars colliding at high speed will suffer a lot more damage than slowly moving ones). Furthermore, a more massive object will also have more kinetic energy so a cannon-ball would do a lot more damage than a BB pellet and an elephant can smash things more easily than a mouse. Kinetic energy, the energy of moving objects, is not the only type of energy out there. Energy can also be stored in various forms as potential energy. There are many types of potential energy, and they can all be converted into motion (kinetic energy) if properly harnessed. In this lab, were going to use elastic potential energy. We store energy in the rubber band by pulling it back. Then, when we let go, this stored energy is converted into kinetic energy and the projectile starts moving. This is the basic principle behind launching any projectile. You always convert some stored energy (chemical energy in gunpowder to launch a bullet or in your muscles to throw a ball, elastic energy in bending a bow to launch an arrow) into kinetic energy of the projectile. So what is it that determines how far a projectile flies? First of all, it definitely matters how much energy we give to the projectile. If I send it out moving faster (more kinetic energy) then it will fly farther. The other thing that matters is how much time the projectile has before stopping. It just keeps on flying forward until it hits the ground, and so the more time it has, the farther it will go.

Part1ElasticEnergy
Inthisfirstpart,youwilllookathowthedistancetraveledbytheprojectileisaffectedbyhowfar backyoupulltherubberband. 1. Place a rubber band around the basket provided,asshownintheillustrationto the right. On one side of the basket the rubberbandshouldgoacrossthelowestrow ofholes.Ontheoppositesideofthebasket, it should go across the 2nd row of holes abovethetable.Do not readjusttherubber bandafteryoustarttheexperiment. Puta littlepieceoftapeateachcornertokeep therubberbandinplace. Teachernote: Itdoesnotmatterifthebasketisplacedrightsideuporupsidedown. However,whenthechopstickisputthroughtheholesitshouldbeparalleltothetable. 2. Puttheprojectileinthelauncherasillustrated.Theprojectileshouldgothroughthe 2ndrowofholesandbemostlyhorizontalwhenlaunched. Thetailendofyourprojectileshouldbemarkedat1cmintervals.Launchtheprojectile bypullingbacktothe2cmmark.Makesurethenoseoftheprojectileislinedupwith theedgeofthetablewhenyoulaunch.Onememberofyourgroupshouldstandtothe sideandwatchwherethetipoftheprojectilelands. Teachernote:Tomaketheprocessgofaster,thestudentscansimplymarkoffwherethe projectileendsoneachtrial,andthendothemeasuringaftertheyhavedoneallthree launches. 3. Measurethehorizontaldistancefromtheedgeofthetabletowhereyourprojectile landed.Recorditinthetablebelow. 4. Repeatsteps3and4,thistimepullingbacktothe3cmand4cmmark. 5. In the last column of the table, fill in the factor change in distance flown when comparedtothe2cmdistance.Tofindthefactorchange,dividethedistancexforeach rowbythedistanceinthefirstrow. distancepulled (d) 2cm 3cm distanceflown (x) factorchange (comparedto2cmmeasurement) 1 about1.5

4cm

about2

6. Whichofthefollowingbestdescribeshowthedistanceflownbytheprojectile(x) dependsonhowfaryoustretchedtherubberband(d)? (a) doublingthelengthpulledmakestheprojectiletraveltwiceasfar (b) doublingthelengthpulledmakestheprojectiletravel 2 2 = 4 timesasfar (c) doublinglengthpulledmakestheprojectiletravel 2 1.4 timesasfar Teachernote:Forstudentsmorecomfortablewitharithmetic,checkifthe3cm measurementalsoobeysthesameruleiftherubberbandispulledback1.5timesasfar (3cmcomparedto2cm),doesthedistanceflownalsoincreasebyafactorof1.5? 7. Usingyouranswerfrom#6,howfarwouldyouexpecttheprojectiletotravelifyou stretchedtherubberband5cm?(Hint:5cmis2.5timesyouroriginaldistanceof2cm.) Predicteddistancetraveledford=5cm:x=______________ Studentsshouldsimplymultiplytheir2cmmeasuredvalueby2.5 8. Pullback5cmandmeasurehowfartheprojectileflies. Actualdistancetraveledford=5cm:x=_______________ 9. Howclosewereyou?Calculatethepercenterror:
% error = (actual - predicted) 100 = _______________ predicted

Errorsinthe525%rangearecommon. Concept Question:Which ofthefollowingcorrectlydescribes whatoccurred when you pulledtherubberbandbackfarthertolaunchtheprojectile?(Morethanonechoicemay becorrect!) (a) Moreelasticenergywasstoredintherubberband (b) Theprojectilehadmorekineticenergywhenitleftthelauncher (c) Theprojectiletookalongertimetohitthefloor (d) Theprojectiletookashortertimetohitthefloor (e) Theprojectilewasmovingfasterwhenitleftthelauncher Pulling back the rubber band stores more elastic potential energy in the rubber. This gets convertedtomorekineticenergyfortheprojectilewhenitflies.Morekineticenergymeansthe projectileismovingfaster.Thetimetohitthefloordependsonlyontheheightofthetableand theaccelerationofgravity.Itisnotaffectedbythehorizontalspeedoftheprojectileorbyhow

faryoupullbacktherubberband.

Part2ProjectileMass
Inthispart,youwillinvestigatetheeffectofthemassofyourprojectileonhowfarittravels.You willuseasimplebalancetoestimatetheprojectilemassinunitsofcandy. 1. InyourlabkitthereshouldbeawoodenbarwithtwoZiplocbaggiesattached.Usethis balanceasshowninthepicture.Whenthemassesinthetwobaggiesarethesame,the woodenbarshouldbehorizontal. 2. Putyourprojectileintoonebaggieonyourbalance.Ifyouhold thebalancebythecentralstring,itwilltilttowardstheheavier end,whereyouhaveplacedtheprojectile. 3. Add clay to the other baggie until the wooden bar is horizontalwhenyouholdthebalancebythecentralstring. Thestringsshouldlineupwiththeblacklinesonthewooden beam.Bepreciseinyourmeasurement! 4. Addthisclaytothenoseoftheprojectile.Bywhatfactorhasthemassoftheprojectile changed? Byaddingasmuchclayasittooktobalanceoutthemassoftheprojectiletothenoseof thechopstick,wehavedoubledthemassofourprojectile. 5. CopyoveryourresultsfromPart1intothe2ndcolumnofthetablebelow.Launchthe projectileasbefore,pullingbacktothe2cmand4cmmark.Measurethedistance traveledandrecorditinthe3rdcolumn. 6. Inthelastcolumn,fillinbywhatfactorthedistancechangedwhenyoualteredthe projectilemass. Distance pulled 2cm 4cm Distancetraveled (originalprojectile) Distancetraveled (twiceasheavyprojectile) Factorchange ( colum n 3 colum n ) 2 about0.7 about0.7

7. Whichofthefollowingbestdescribeshowthedistancetraveledbytheprojectile(x) dependsonthemassoftheprojectile(m)? (a) (b) (c) (d) doublingthemassmakestheprojectiletravel2timesasfar doublingthemassmakestheprojectiletraveltimesasfar doublingthemassmakesprojectiletravel 2 1.4 timesasfar doublingthemassmakesprojectiletravel 1/ 2 0.7 timesasfar

Teachernote:Thisisjustaskingwhetherthenumbersinthelastcolumnareclosestto2, 0.5,1.4,or0.7. 8. Howfardoyouthinkthenew,heavyprojectilewilltravelifyoupulltherubber band to the 5cm mark? (Hint: recall from the previous part what happens if you multiplythedistancepulledbackby2.5.) Predicteddistancewhenpulling5cm:___________ Theansweris2.5*(distanceflownbyheavyprojectilewhenpulled2cm). 9. Placeatargetatthepredicteddistancefromthetable.Nowlaunchtheprojectileafter pullingback5cm. Didyouhitthetarget? ConceptQuestions: (**)Forthosewhohavedonethegravitylab: Doesmakingtheprojectileheavierchangethetimeittakestofalltotheground? Asdemonstratedinthegravitylab(orasstudentsmayhaveseeninotherscienceclasses, themassofanobjectdoesnotaffecthowfastitfalls.Forstudentswhoarenotfamiliarwiththis concept,nowisagoodtimetodiscusstheclassicexperimentofdroppingatennisballanda bowlingballoffaroofbothwilllandatthesametime. To demonstrate, have a student stand on a chair and drop both a heavy and light projectile(withtheclaytippointingdowntoavoiditrotatingintheair).Bothshouldhitthe groundataboutthesametime. Aheavyobjectmusthavemorekineticenergytomoveatthesamespeedasalighterobject. Explainwhytheheavierprojectiledidnotflyasfar.(Hint:diditsspeedcomingoffthe launcherchange?Why?) All of the projectiles energy has to come from the rubber band. If the projectile is heavier then it would need more energy to move at the same speed as the light projectile. However,wedonotgiveitanymoreenergy(wedontpullbackanyfarther),andsoithastobe movingslowerwhenleavingthelauncher.Sinceitmovesslower,itdoesnotflyasfarbefore hittingthefloor. It helps here to think of an extreme example what if you were trying to shoot an elephantfromtherubberband?Theelephantwouldbarelymove.Itshorizontalspeedwouldbe quitelow.However,evenaslowlymovingelephanthasquitealotofenergy(itcouldknockyou overwithoutneedingtomovefast).

Part3StartingHeight
Inthispart,youwillseehowthedistancethattheprojectiletravelschangesifyouraisethe launchheight. 1. Use astackoftextbooksto maketheheightfromwhichyouareshooting1.5 timesasbigasitwasbefore. Originalheightoftable:_______________ Newheightoftable:_________________(=original*1.5) 2. Shoottheprojectile(withthemodelingclaystillonit),asbefore,pullingbackto the2cmandthe4cmmark.Measurehowfartheprojectilefliesandfillinthefollowing table.Thelastcolumnisthefactorchangeinthedistancetraveledwhencomparingthe newandoldheight. Distancepulled Distancetraveled Distancetraveled Factorchange (originalheight, (newheight, ( colum n 3 colum n ) 2 heavyprojectile) heavyprojectile) 2cm 4cm 3. Whichofthefollowingbestdescribeshowthedistancetraveledbytheprojectile (x)dependsonlaunchheight(h)? (a)multiplyingtheheightby1.5changesdistancetraveledbyafactor1.5 (b)multiplyingheightby1.5changesdistancetraveledbyfactor 1.5 2 =2.25 (c)multiplyingheightby1.5changesdistancetraveledbyfactor 1.5 =1.2 (d)multiplyingheightby1.5changesdistancetraveledby1/1.5=0.66 Thisisjustaskingwhetherthenumbersinthefactorchangecolumnareclosestto 1.5,2.25,1.2,or0.66. 4. Usingwhatyoulearnedinpart2,howfardoyouthinktheprojectilewillflyif youlaunchfromthenewheight,takeoffthemodelingclay,andpullback4cm? Predicteddistanceforlightprojectile,tallheight,4cm:__________ Startwiththedistanceflownbytheheavyprojectileatthetallheight,whenpulled back4cm.Topredictthedistanceforthelightprojectileinthesamecircumstances, justdivideby0.7(orequivalently,multiplyby 2 1.4 ). Placeatargetwhereyou predicttheprojectilewillland.Makesureyou have enoughspacesotheprojectilewonthitanything!Testyourprediction. Didithitthetarget?

ConceptQuestion: Whichofthefollowingcorrectlydescribeswhathappenswhenyouraisetheheightofthe launcher? (a) Theprojectileleavesthelauncherwithmorekineticenergy (b) Theprojectilehasafasterhorizontalspeedwhenleavingthelauncher (c) Theprojectiletakeslongertoreachtheground (d) Moreelasticenergyisstoredintherubberband Changingtheheightdoesnotaffecthowfasttheprojectileflieshorizontally,butitdoesgiveit moretimebeforereachingtheground,soitcangofarther.

Wrapupquestions
1. Ifyouchangethefollowingvariables,whatwillhappentothehorizontaldistance flownbytheprojectile? Thecorrectanswersareunderlinedbelow,aswellastheexplanationsbehindthem.Thisis agoodtimetorevisittheconceptsofkineticandpotentialenergy,aswellasvelocity,with thestudents. (a)pulltherubberbandbackfarther increase/decrease/depends Pullingbackfartherincreasestheamountofelasticenergystoredintherubberband.Thus theprojectileisgivenmorekineticenergyanditfliesfaster. (b)useastrongerrubberband(onethattakesmoreefforttopull)increase/decrease/depends Usingastrongerrubberbandwillalsoincreasetheamountofelasticenergystoredforthe samepullingdistance. (c)usealighterprojectile increase/decrease/depends

Theamountofkineticenergygiventotheprojectileisthesame.Butthekineticenergy dependsonbothmassandspeed.Thus,alighterobjectwillmovefasterifgiventhesame kineticenergy,andtheprojectilewillflyfarther. (d)launchfromalowerheight increase/decrease/depends

Theheightdoesnotchangethespeedwithwhichtheprojectileisshot.However,alower heightmeanstheprojectiletakeslesstimetohitthegroundandthusitdoesnothavetime toflyasfar.

(e)launchonthemoon(weakergravitythanearth)increase/decrease/depends Iftheeffectofgravityisweaker,theprojectilewillnotaccelerateasquicklyinthevertical direction.Thismeansitwillnotbefallingasfast,andthuswilltakelongertohitthe ground.Sinceitshorizontalvelocityisunchanged,itcanflyfartherinthatlongertime. (f)launchatanangledownwards increase/decrease/depends

Launchingatanangledownwardsgivestheparticlesomeverticaldownwardsvelocity asidefromwhatitacquiresfromgravity.Itwillthusfallfaster,reachthegroundquicker, andnothavetimetogoasfar. (g)launchatanangleupwards increase/decrease/depends (hint:thinkaboutlaunchingataslightangleup,versuslaunchingstraightupattheceiling). Iftheprojectileislaunchedslightlyupward,thenitwillflyupwardsforawhilebefore turningandbeginningtofalldownwards.Thismeansitwilltakealongertotaltimeforitto hit theground.Itstotalvelocityremainsunchanged(sincethesameamountofkinetic energyisgiventoit).However,someofthatvelocitygoesintomovingupwardinsteadof forward.Thustheprojectilehasalowerhorizontalspeedbuttravelsforalongertime.The changeinthedistancetraveleddependsontheexactangle.Launchingstraightupwould maximize the time of travel but the projectile wont go anywhere. On the other hand, launching at a slight angle will increase the overall distance traveled. Actually, the maximumdistanceisachievedata45degreeangle.(**Studentscanexperimentwiththis effectbythreadingtheprojectilethroughadifferentrowofholesatthefrontofthebasket.) 2. GivetwoexamplesofprojectilemotionthatyouhaveseeninreallifeoronTV, andexplainwheretheenergycomesfromtomaketheprojectilemove. Possibleexamplesinclude: Arrowshotfromabow(elasticenergyfrombendingofthebow) Blowdartshotfromapipe(energyfromthemovingairyoublowonit) Cannonball(chemicalenergystoredinexplosivegunpowder) Bulletfromagun(sameasabove) Thrown baseball (energy directly from your muscles, which can convert chemical into mechanicalenergy)