Physics ( Lab Rebort )

Ready to launch

We conducted an experiment with the aim of establishing distance of a projectile, launched at an angle and we used both homemade and a launcher that the department of physics had made. We use the catapult, the launcher, projectile pennies (different for catapult and launcher), meter, protractor, and a calculator. The catapult was used for the first trial and projection made at 00. Projectile distance was measured and recorded, and the procedure repeated to other angles at an interval of 100. Only one projection was made per angle and a penny of 3.06g was used. For the launcher, a 2.21g penny was used and was launched at an angle of 100 and distance measured and recorded. This was repeated four times and average distance calculated. The procedure was then repeated to different angles, with a 100 interval, with five replications at each angle. Average distance was then calculated for each angle and recorded. Uncertainties were also calculated for both distance and angle. The angle 600 yielded the maximum distances for both trials. For the catapult trial, the maximum distance was 62 cm while the distance was 72.6 for the launcher trial. The projectile’s velocity increased up to 66 cm/s before falling to 32cs/s, while uncertainties were 5 cm for distance and 50 for angle. Our experimental values deviated from theoretical values and human error, such as in measuring angle of projection could explain this. Theoretically, 450 is the maximum distance and the distance should be zero at 900. The experimental distance at 900 was however the minimum, though not zero.