Trebuchet Proof of Efficacy

Description of Design

In this project we had to make trebuchets within a one meter area and launch a projectile

as far as we could. Our trebuchet had a base with two legs, an axle, an arm, and a screw on the

end. We attached a small clay ball to a string and looped it around the screw then we fired it by

using rubber bands. In order to fire we loaded our machine with rubber bands then pulled the arm

to the ground letting it go to release the projectile. We have a metal axle that has rubber bands on

it to keep the arm in place. We also added a stopper on the legs so we can stop the arm to get a

better angle of release.

Eight Modifications we Made to our Trebuchet

In order to get better performance we made eight modifications to our trebuchet to make

it go farther.

1. We added a stopper so that the arm would release the projectile at a 35o angle. We did

this because this angle would allow are trebuchet to launch the projectile further.

2. We experimented with the amount of rubber bands we used. We did this so we could see

how many rubber bands would launch the projectile the furthest and this ended up being

five.

3. We got rid of the weight we were originally using. We did this because we found out that

rubber bands work better than weights on our trebuchet.

 4. We added an extra area for rubber band placement that was closer to the legs. We did this

because we thought it would launch the projectile further, but it did not improve our

trebuchet.

5. We added spacers in the form of rubber bands to lessen the movement of the arm when

firing. We did this because when the arm is less wobbly it allows for it to fire in a

straighter path.

6. We put the screw at a 60o angle. We did this because it makes the projectile launch at a

better time.

7. We made the weight of the projectile 10 grams. This let the projectile not have too much

weight that it cant launch, but still be heavy enough to be accurate.

8. Lastly, we made the length of the string eight inches. We did this because it lets the string

fling in a circle giving us a better launch, but it is not too long to drag across the base.

Trebuchet CLEAR paragraph.

In a trebuchet it is better to launch a projectile with rubber bands rather than weights. In

this experiment my group made a trebuchet with 2 legs, a base, an axle, and an arm. We

launched a small clay ball connected to a string which was attached to a screw. We found that a

5lb weight only launched the projectile 6 meters, but we were able to use 5 rubber bands and

launch it 22 meters. This shows that using rubber bands is better than weights because they

accelerate the arm faster than 9.8m/s2. We also tested a 5lb weight and rubber bands and were

never able to launch the projectile further than 22 meters. This shows that weights and rubber
bands is still not better than just using rubber bands, because you can add force in small

increments when using rubber bands.

Technical Specifications

Horizontal distance: 22m (72.17ft) This is how far we were able to launch our projectile into the

distance, that's about two telephone poles laid on the ground.

Time in air: 1.4s This is the time it took for the projectile to be launched then hit the ground.

Vertical distance: 9.6m (31.49ft) This is about three stories up.

Horizontal velocity: 15.17m/s (35.11mph) This is the amount of speed the projectile traveled on

a horizontal plain.

Vertical velocity: 13.72m/s (30.69mph) This is the amount of speed the projectile traveled on a

vertical plane.

Total velocity: 20.85m/s (46.64mph) This is about the speed of a car moving slowly on the

freeway.

Spring constant: 490N/m This is the springiness of our rubber bands

PE of the spring: 17.86J This is the amount of energy contained in the rubber bands when the

arm is pulled down.

KE= 2.17J This is the amount of energy in the ball just before it hits the ground.

Conversion rate: 12% This means that only 12% of the energy from the beginning was there at

the end.

Angle of release: 35o This means that the projectile was let go at a 35o angle.
 Main Selling Points

Our trebuchet is better than others because it is easy to carry, quick to arm, and can fire a

projectile a consistent distance of about 20m.