Shoot…Ready…Aim!  This was not the way to achieve favorable results in the Junior/Senior Physics catapult competition. Students were challenged to design and build a catapult or trebuchet that had a maximum dimensions in height, length and width of one meter in the locked and loaded position.

Students discovered that size wasn’t the key factor; it was how the student applied the knowledge of projectile motion. To do this, students considered how the flight of the projectile was impacted by a change in launch force, mass of the projectile, angle of flight, and launch arm length. Each had an impact on distance and height of the projectile. The teams brought their projects to the testing area to earn a grade, with the ultimate being an A+; the clearing of each of the castle walls (Camelot, Beowulf and Avalon castles) in three consecutive launches. Students were surprised that putting Newton’s Laws of Motion into action created a great deal of Physics phun (fun).

The Science department would like to thank numerous students and staff at EOB for their help. This project crossed over several boundaries with a great deal of encouragement and assistance from shop teachers as well as the creative genius in the painting of the castle walls by students in the Art department.