Trebuchets
The trebuchet project is the second and final project for our process skills unit and is where the students get to really demonstrate their understanding of the scientific method.
A trebuchet is a mid-evil siege weapon... kind of a cross between a catapult and a sling, only powered by gravity, which was originally used to either knock down castle walls or, by throwing other less savory things, cause the inhabitants of the castle to want to leave and take their chances with the soldiers outside.
As a class we discuss all of the different variables that can affect the trajectory, or flight path, of the projectile, in out case: little balls of clay. The students then choose three variables to test. They need to state a hypothesis: how do they think the changing variable will affect the distance; gather data; analyze/graph the data; and finally state their conclusions as to whether or not the variable did have an effect and how.
The final part of this project is a distance and accuracy competition. The distance competition is just like it sounds: each group is given two shots to get the largest distance possible with their trebuchets. The winner of this competition gets candy, usually Jolly Ranchers.
The second competition is the accuracy competition. A firing line is placed on the floor along with a dot that is within the maximum distance of all of the trebuchets. Each group then uses their data to predict what settings are needed to land their putty ball as close as possible to the dot. As this is a more academically challenging competition the rewards are greater: a pizza lunch for the winners.
A trebuchet is a mid-evil siege weapon... kind of a cross between a catapult and a sling, only powered by gravity, which was originally used to either knock down castle walls or, by throwing other less savory things, cause the inhabitants of the castle to want to leave and take their chances with the soldiers outside.
As a class we discuss all of the different variables that can affect the trajectory, or flight path, of the projectile, in out case: little balls of clay. The students then choose three variables to test. They need to state a hypothesis: how do they think the changing variable will affect the distance; gather data; analyze/graph the data; and finally state their conclusions as to whether or not the variable did have an effect and how.
The final part of this project is a distance and accuracy competition. The distance competition is just like it sounds: each group is given two shots to get the largest distance possible with their trebuchets. The winner of this competition gets candy, usually Jolly Ranchers.
The second competition is the accuracy competition. A firing line is placed on the floor along with a dot that is within the maximum distance of all of the trebuchets. Each group then uses their data to predict what settings are needed to land their putty ball as close as possible to the dot. As this is a more academically challenging competition the rewards are greater: a pizza lunch for the winners.