The Accuracy of a Torsion Catapult

Daniel Anker-Scherer, Magdalena Murray, Sadie Wortman

Washington Latin Public Charter School
5200 2nd St NW, Washington, DC 20011
Background Design and Building Process Data and Results
This project met the following domains:
● using the problem solving process by Materials: Design: Plan drawings Data Figure 5: Launching
developing critical thinking skills,
● analyzing physical situations, and engineer
solutions to problems,
We achieved these domains by designing and
building the catapult that could launch an
object consistently and accurately for at least
5 meters.

The other course domains were:
● communicating within a scientific frame,
● framing clear research objectives, and
● writing and organizing a formal lab write up.
We met these though the construction of this
poster.
Our research inspired our design because we
learned that the best angle was 45 degrees to
fire at. We learned this by solving the range
equation for the optimal angle to launch from.
Our research also inspired our design
because we learn the torsion catapult is one
of the most consistent with its shots.
Research Objective
We wanted to build a torsion catapult that
prioritized accuracy and consistency over
distance, allowing us to score 3 times in the
center of the first bullseye out of three shots.
We added the stopping mechanism and put
two pieces of wood at the side to remove
some of the tension that the rope, later
attached to the arm, would cause.
Building Figure 1: Materials
The first step that we did was
gather our materials and cut the
wood to the appropriate size.
Building Figure 3: After 2nd
meeting
Building Figure 2: After 1st
meeting
Then we made the base by using screws
to combine the wood together, forming a
strong square base. We then added
another piece of wood vertically on the
base which we could later use to stop
the arm at 45 degrees while launching.
Building Figure 4: Final product
Acknowledgements / References
● For this project we would like to thank Sadie’s parents for donating some of
● Catapult engineering the physics of siege weapons STEM club resource
We added our 3d printed bucket to the
arm, installed the arm, and tightened
the rope.
The above diagram and photo (Figure 5) maps out the results of
our launch.
● We launched out catapult three times
● Our catapult shot consistently 5 meters i
● Our catapult hit the first middle circle (the 10 point zone) each
time, allowing us to receive a final grade of 30/30.
● All of the shots were within half of a foot of each other.
● Our catapult prioritized accuracy over distance.
Conclusion
● Based on our results we met our objective,
● The Torsion catapult is very accurate.
● Our design did change a little from our original design. We had to
put a piece of wood horizontally in between the two pieces of
wood towards the front because there was too much tension on
the other pieces of wood.as well as making the arm longer to get
a larger initial velocity.
● Our project got it in the 10 point zone constantly allowing us to
end this experiment with a 30/30.
the materials that we needed, Magdalena’s parents for providing guidance
when we attached the arm and donating some of the materials, and Daniel's
parents for donating the wood.
pack [Fact sheet]. (n.d.). Science Oxford. Retrieved December 7, 2023,
from https://scienceoxford.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/3.-Catapult-
Engineering.pdf