Shane Hagaman

04/07/2021
Mr. Haggerty
Physics P2

Investigating Projectile Motion with a Marble Launcher

Introduction
The focus of the lab is to observe and
quantify the methods of finding vertical velocity and
the maximum possible height of an object in motion,
in particular a marble projectile. Specific goals set
dictated finding measurements of height, followed
by total time, in addition to determining how to
calculate vertical vectors in a lab after launching
something of arch. For some context, a velocity Experimental Design (Adapted from Elbretch, 2021)

vector represents the rate of change of the position Part 1

of an object. The magnitude of a velocity vector
gives the speed of an object while the vector
direction gives its direction. Calculating these
vectors forced utilization of the angle sine
relationship for each horizontal and vertical vector
for each different angle of launch positioning. In
detail we measured velocity in meters per second by
quantifying the diameter of the marble divided by
time. By measuring the horizontal displacement
(how far the marble traveled from the origin), we
applied special right triangles theorems for the
vertical velocity based on counting the horizontal
displacement as our arch/theoretical triangle’s
hypotenuse; the particular theorem being the law of
sines. Finding the horizontal velocity required
diving the total displacement by two. And to
calculate the maximum height of each launch we
equated (horizontal velocity * total time)/2.
1. Acquire all necessary materials. Assemble your
marble launcher, photogate, and timer.
2. To calculate the marble’s initial velocity, you will
need to determine the width of the marble. Use a
ruler to measure the diameter of your marble, and
record it.
3. Set the marble launcher to the first angle you will
be testing. Conduct a few trial launches to
determine how far the marble will travel before
hitting the ground and bouncing or rolling.
4. Once you have determined the approximate
distance the marble will travel, place the black
carbon paper on the ground. Tape it to the ground
to keep it from moving during the experiment.
5. Place the blank piece of paper on top of the
carbon paper. For accurate measurements, it is
suggested that you line up the bottom of the
paper with the grid of the flooring tiles. Tape the
paper to the ground to keep it from moving
during the experiment.

Part 2: Collecting the First Set of Data

Shane Hagaman © 2021, Adapted from A Clark, A Mechtenberg - Page 1

 1. Set the marble launcher to launch at a 30 degree
angle.
2. Measure the distance from the marble launcher to
the bottom of the piece of computer paper, and
record it.
3. Set the launcher to the first slot (the one closest
to the top). Load the marble into the top of the
launcher tube. Fire the launcher as directed
above. Immediately retrieve your marble.
4. Record the time (in seconds) from the photogate
in the table below.
5. Carefully remove the computer paper from the Apparatus
ground, leaving the carbon paper in place. You
should see a small mark where the marble first
contacted the paper. Measure the distance from
the bottom of the paper to the mark. Add this
distance to the distance from the marble
launcher to the bottom of the paper you wrote
above, and record this total distance in the data
table below.
6. Use your marker or highlighter to circle or place
an ‘x’ through the carbon mark on the paper.
Replace the paper in the exact same spot where it
was located previously, and tape it to the ground. Figure 1: A image showing the photoget setup when the
7. Repeat steps 3 through 6 two more times to launcher is at a 90 degree angle.
complete the data table below.
Experimental Observations/Data
Part 3: Collect the Remaining Data
1. Repeat the experiment from Part 2 to collect the Angle Measured Vertical Maximum Total
remaining data in the table below. Velocity Velocity Height Horizontal
2. For each new angle, you will need to readjust the (meters) (meters) (meters) Distance
distance from the marble launcher to the bottom
of the piece of paper. Remember that your goal is 0° 0.3628 0 0 1.04 m
to land the marble on the paper in each trial. It is
30° 0.8466 1.6920 0.5390 1.62 m
easier to leave the paper in place and move the
marble launcher than it is to move the papers. 45° 0.3342 0.3342 0.3849 1.54 m
3. If your paper becomes too marked up to be
readable, get a new sheet of paper to continue the 60° 0.3432 0.6864 0.5668 1.104 m
experiment.

Shane Hagaman © 2021, Adapted from A Clark, A Mechtenberg - Page 2

 longer duration of the velocity in traction. Therefore
Discussion/Conclusion more time allowed in freefall, the more time there is for
The data collected in the investigation showed the velocity to be affected by earth’s gravitational pull,
that when accounting for an angled velocity's component and subsequently more readings of slower velocities
vecto, one can see the relationship between gravity and because of that natural pull compared the the under 45
force ever present in the laws of physics. degree launches which are stopped by impact with
We observed the marble which launched with an Earth’s surface plane.
angle of 30 degrees traveled the furthest maximum This does not factor in sources for error such as
distance of 1.62 meters and received the highest wind resistance, as professional scientists do. However
measured velocity and vertical velocity, but not the believe that in this study that the range of the projectile is
highest maximum height. In practice, this stems from the not long enough for there to be room for wind resistance
to be effective; as the recording day was not windy and
spring of the launcher into vertical velocity by
wind resistance occurs incrementally the more displaced
profiefficent amounts of potential-kinetic energy
through the atmosphere a projectile travels.
utilization interwoven to the design of the spring; making
it travel less of a horizontal distance and more of a
vertical distance because the energy is so compacted it
directs the vector of energy release in a fine-linear
manner to whichever direction pointed.It practically will
have more velocity and more horizontal distance covered
depending on how low the angle of launch is adjacent to
earth’s surface. When kinetic energy is released so finely,
factors of which bring down the projectile include wind
resistance and reactive gravitational pull halting the
inertia.

Data for all other angles greater than 30° have

weaker velocities. Interestingly at 45° the downward
trend of lower velocities and even a lower height over the
30 degree mark reverses, with the 60 degree mark having
higher recorded velocities than the 45 degree angle
launch, yet still a lower horizontal distance. Total
horizontal displacement seems entirely dependent on the
upwards horizontal tilt pitch and the intense linear
potential energy of the spring. In essence the spring’s
powerful launch gives so much kinetic energy to the
marble, that at angles higher than 45 degrees (which are
angles of which the marble is not pointed intersecting
with the plane of the earth’s surface), the marble only
comes down due to the earth’s gravitational pull; so
velocity of the projectile slows down slower unlike all
angles under 45 degrees, resulting in the readings for
these firings giving us an average velocity based on a

Shane Hagaman © 2021, Adapted from A Clark, A Mechtenberg - Page 3

Shane Hagaman © 2021, Adapted from A Clark, A Mechtenberg - Page 4
 References
Englebretch, M. (2021). Investigating Projectile
Motion. The Greene School.

Shane Hagaman © 2021, Adapted from A Clark, A Mechtenberg - Page 5