Projectile Motion

Our experiment attempted to verify the accuracy of predicting a projectile's motion: we concentrated on the range of the projectile as determined by the trajectory equation; compared our observations to established ones; built a spring-powered cannon with sensors at the end of the barrel to collect initial velocities; fired a miniature pool ball at a sand pit and measured the distance to the impact crater; collected data at 12 cannon settings, varying between four forces and three angles for 480 trials in all; calculated the expected distance of the projectile; found the percent difference between the expected distances and our observed ones; performed 13 one-sample matched pairs t-tests; and found that our distances were consistently greater than those expected due to the aerodynamic properties of spheres.

Research Done By:

Martin Pietraszkiewicz
Cousino High School

Stephen Schroeder
Lake Shore High School

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