![]() Position the target at least 4 ft away from your catapult. For example, the target could be a bulls-eye whereby the points increase in concentric rings toward the middle of the circle. Create or print out a target with landing spots that are worth different points.Can your catapult and chosen projectile knock over one or more of the cups? How can you modify your catapult design and/or projectile selection to knock over the whole pyramid? ![]() Stack 6 or more plastic cups into a pyramid to create a 3-D vertical target and place it 4 ft away from the starting line.What’s the greatest possible distance your catapult can launch your projectile? How does modifying your launching angle affect projectile distance? Can you modify your catapult design to maximize projectile distance?.Can you think of a way to adjust your design that will minimize this variability? The biggest hindrance to precision is likely the variability in the force applied to the catapult before launch. So if your catapult is both accurate and precise you will be hitting the center of the target over and over again. Did you know there is a difference between accuracy and precision? Accuracy refers to how close any particular launch is to hitting the center of the target, while precision refers to how close each successive launch is to the ones before it. If you enjoyed this activity – take it a step further with more design challenges! As the weight falls, the opposite end beam springs upward, pulling the sling with the payload in an arc over the machine. When fired, the trebuchet's counterweight would be released. The other end of the beam would be attached to a sling that would contain the payload. The counterweight would be attached to one end of a beam that pivoted on the machine's frame. Instead of pulling down the arm and storing the energy through torsion, soldiers using a trebuchet would use pulleys to lift a heavy weight called the counterweight. There is another kind of catapult called the trebuchet that works differently. The tension (called torsion because the energy is stored in something that is twisted) would fling the arm forward, launching the payload into air. The arm would be secured while a projectile loaded into the bucket and then released. Soldiers would use ropes to pull the throwing arm down, creating tension in twisted ropes or springs. The onager stored potential energy in twisted ropes or springs, and in the wooden "throwing" arm of the machine. If you've ever watched a movie with a battle scene where one army attacked a fortress, you've probably seen a catapult of these in action. The goal was to destroy property and injure or demoralize the enemy. Sometimes they were used to hurl rocks, burning coals, and even parts of dead bodies. ![]() The heavy onager weighed twice as much, but could hit a target 500 yards away with an 8-pound stone.Ĭatapults were sometimes used to knock down walls. The light onager weighed about 1000 pounds and could hurl a 3- or 4-pound stone about 100 yards. One of those weapons was the catapult.Ī catapult is a device that uses the sudden release of potential energy to launch an object a great distance. Many of the weapons available were the same ones used by ancient armies like the Greeks and Romans. This was before guns or cannons, so you can imagine the challenge of getting through walls. In the medieval world, warfare often involved beseiging, or surrounding and attacking, a fortified location like a city or castle.
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