APPLIED MECHANICS

Workbook
 Question 1: The flying ball has energy because it is in motion. What form of energy is stored in
motion?

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The Catapult The mousetrap catapult is used to fire a
ball onto a target that is mounted on a
bendable ruler.

Question 2: Before the ball was thrown, where was the energy stored in the system?

Question 3: The catapult is essentially a lever and a torsion spring that applies a torque to the
lever. How does the lever’s arm length affect the force applied to the projectile?

Calculation 1: Remember that the energy of motion is expressed as kinetic energy = ½ mass x
velocity². How much energy does a 0.005 kilogram (kg) ball have if its velocity after being fired
from the catapult is 16 meters per second (m/s)?

Calculation 2: If the torsion spring applies an average torque of .9 inch-pounds and the
catapult’s arm is 4 inches long, how much force will the catapult’s arm apply to the ball?

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 Question 1: Would it be easier for the ball to bend a longer or a shorter ruler if it hit the very
end of it?

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Bending the Ruler The ball fired from the mousetrap catapult
hits the target and bends the ruler back
until it bumps into the push button.

Question 2: If the ruler were to break in the process of being bent, where would it most likely
break?

Calculation 1: If the ball hits the bull’s-eye of the target that is located 11 inches above its base,
and applies a force of 1 pound to bend the ruler, what is the bending moment applied to the
base of the ruler?

Calculation 2: When the target springs back, throwing the ball, it will apply an average force of
.25 pounds on the ball for a 4-inches distance (how far it sprang back in the first place). Knowing
that the definition of work is a force multiplied by a distance, how much energy has the bent
ruler imparted onto the ball? Knowing how much energy went into the motion of the ball, would
it be possible to calculate the ball’s speed?

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 Question 1: In what form is potential energy being stored?

The Switch, the Battery, The push button completes the circuit
between the battery and motor. Question 2: What is the difference between electrical energy and electrical power? When we
and the Motor refer to electricity from a wall socket, which one are we referring to?

Question 3: Electric motors often spin much faster than needed. A series of gears are often
attached to the motor. These small gear boxes are referred to as gear reducers because they
reduce the speed at which the output shaft spins, while increasing their torque. What are the
advantages of using a worm gear as a gear reducer?

Question 4: Are there any other combinations of gears that could be used to wind up the spool
of wire? If so, what types of gears would you use?

Calculation 1: A gear ratio can always be calculated by dividing the number of rotations the
input shaft makes by the number of rotations the output shaft makes. If it takes 80 turns of the
motor to rotate the large output gear twice, what is the gear ratio of the gear reducer?

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 Question 1: Does the diameter of the drum, or spool, affect how fast the cable is pulled in?
Does it affect how much force it pulls it in with?

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The Pulley and the The gears turn the attached spool that
winds up the pulley’s cable that will tilt
Teapot the teapot.

Question 2: Approximately how much mechanical advantage does this pulley produce?

Calculation 1: If it only takes 1 foot pound to rotate the teapot’s pedestal, and the attached
pulley arm is 1 foot long, how much force does the gear-driven spool need to pull on the cable?
(Hint: Don’t forget about the pulley.)

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The Teacup and Linkages
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Question 1: Any system that accelerates uses energy to do so. In this case, where was the
energy stored and in what form?
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The teapot pours into the teacup, filling
the cup and causing a series of linkages
Question 2: The falling water (tea) has what kind of energy?
to move under its weight. These linkages
then close the book on applied mechanics.
Question 3: Linkages are useful for creating different types of motion. Additionally, there are
many types of linkages and ways to use them. Try drawing a different series of linkages that
could be used to close a book.
Calculation 1:
watt (W) = joule/second
joule (J) = newton x meter
newton (N) = kilogram x meter/second²
Prove that when the mass in the kinetic energy equation KE = ½ mass x velocity² is replaced by a
mass rate (like how much water is flowing, kg/s), it is a measure of power according to the units.
(Hint: Don’t worry about the ½—it’s not a unit.)
Calculation 2: It’s possible to calculate how much power the fluid flow coming out of the
teapot has. To do this, you need to multiply the pressure of the stream by the cross-sectional
area of the spout. How much power does the fluid flow have when leaving the spout if the
pressure pushing the water is 490 pascals (Pa) and the flow rate is .00001 m³/s? (A pascal is N/
m².)
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