ProjectileLabAdvancedwithPhysics (teacherversion)

Prerequisites:
Thislabisdesignedforstudentswhoeitherhavealreadytakenaphysicsclassinhighschool,orwho arecurrentlytakingoneforcredit.Algebra,anunderstandingofunitsanderrors,andbasicphysical concepts(eg:balancingforces)isrequired. Materials: Foreachgroup(of24students)youwillneedthefollowing: 1woodenchopstick,withacoupleofmetalnutsononeendtoincreasetheweight;thetail endofthechopstickshouldbemarkedat1cmintervals(upto5cm) 1basketwithholessufficientlylargeforthechopsticktoslidethrougheasily 1meterstickortapemeasure 1smallmetricruler(inadditiontothemeterstick!) 1rudimentarybalance,consistingofawoodenorcardboardbarwithaholeatthecenterof massand2holesequidistantfromthecenter,withaziplocbagattachedtoeachedgehole (note:somewoodenrulersalreadyhaveholesconvenientlypunchedformakingsucha balance) 10pennies 25beads 3papertargets 1rubberband(standard5mmsizeorsimilar) aflattableordeskofreasonableheight,withatleast~3mfreespaceinfrontofitfor launchingtheprojectile ideally,1calculatorperstudent;ataminimum,1pergroup 1quartsizeziplocbagwithaholeatthetop 1packageofcandywithnetweightaround170250g,oranythingelseofthatapproximate weightwherethenetweightismarkedonthepackage,andwherethepackagingitselfis light(nometalcans)

Keyconcepts:
Projectilemotion.Themotionofaprojectiledependsonitsinitialvelocityandthetime oftravel.Aprojectilelaunchedhorizontallywilltraveladistance h = 1/2gt 2 ,wheretis thetimeofflightandgistheaccelerationofgravity. Conservation of energy. Elastic potential energy is given by PE = 1/2kx 2 . Kinetic energyforamovingobjectisgivenby KE = 1/2mv 2 . Balancingforces. Foranonacceleratingobject,thetotalforcesactingonitmustby equal(seethemeasurementoftheelasticconstantintask2ofpart1) Fundamental equations of physics, together with basic measurements of material properties,allowustomakeconcretepredictionsaboutthebehaviorofanobjectin

controlledcircumstances

Inthislabyouwillshootaprojectileacrosstheroomwitharubberbandandcalculatehowfaritflies. Youwillfirstdosomepreliminarymeasurementstofindthemassofyourprojectile,thestrength (elasticconstant)oftherubberband,andthelaunchheight.Byusingconservationofenergy,youwill thenbeabletopredictthespeedwithwhichtheprojectileislaunchedandhowfaritwillfly.

Part1PreliminaryMeasurements
Tasks1,2,and3canbedoneatthesametimebydifferentmembersofyourgroup.

Task1MassoftheProjectile

Youwilluseasimplebalancetomeasurethemassofyourprojectile. 1. In yourlabkitthereshouldbe awoodenbarwithtwoziploc baggiesattached.Usethisbalanceasshowninthepicture.When the masses in the two baggies are the same, the wooden bar shouldbehorizontal. Youhavebeenprovidedwithpenniesandbeadstouseasmass standards.Ausefulfact:accordingtotheUSmint,apost1982 pennyhasmass2.5g. 2. Balancethebeadsagainstapenny. 1penny=__________________beads. Eachbeadmusthavemass__________________g. 3. Placeyourprojectile(thewoodenstickwithmetalnutsontheend)intoonebaggieonthe balance.Useacombinationofpenniesandbeadstobalancetheprojectile. 1projectile=_________pennies+___________beads

Themassoftheprojectileis___________________g

Task2ElasticityoftheRubberBand
Youwillmeasuretheelasticconstantoftherubberbandwhichwillbeusedtoshootyourprojectile. Thiselasticconstanttellsyouhowstrongtherubberbandis.Thebiggertheelasticconstant,themore forceisrequiredtostretchthebandandthemoreenergyisstoredinthebandbystretchingit. Ifweapproximatetherubberbandasaspringwithelasticconstantk,thentheforceexertedbytheband whenitisstretchedadistancexisgivenby: Felastic = kx Thegravitationalforceexertedonanobjectofmassmisgivenbythefollowing(whereg=980cm/s2 isthegravitationalaccelerationonEarth): Fgravity = mg
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Placearubberbandaroundthebasketprovided.Ononesideofthebasket,therubber bandshouldgoacrossthe1strowofholesundertheopentop.Ontheothersideofthebasket,it shouldgoacrossthe2ndrowofholesfromthetop. Thesidewhereitpassesthe2nd rowof holesisthesideyouwillusetoloadyourprojectile. Adjusttherubberbandsothatitisevenlytightallaroundthe basket. Use small pieces of tape at the corners to secure the rubberband.Donotadjusttherubberbandafteryoumeasurethe elasticitythiswouldthrowoffyourpredictions. Placethepackageofcandyfromyourkitinaziplocbag. Useapapercliptosuspendthebagfromtherubberband.Thebag shouldbehangingfromthecenteroftherubberbandontheside whereitgoesacrossthe2ndrowofholes.

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Themassintheziplocbagis_________________g (Lookforthenetweightonthepackageofcandy,andassumethat thepackagingitselfissolightthatyoucanneglectit)

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Usearulertomeasurethedistancefromtherubberband (wherethepaperclipisattached)tothesideofthebasket,as illustratedbelow:

Teachernote:Thisworkbestiftherulerispushedrightupagainstthebasket,nearthepartwherethe rubberbandisstretchedthefurthest.Mostrulershaveagapbetweentheedgeandthe0mark.Inthis case,thestudentscansimplymeasurethegapseparatelyandadditontothedistance.

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Therubberbandstretchedatotalof__________cmfromthebasket. (Roundupifitfallsbetweenmmmarks)

6. Whileitishangingfromrubberband,theZiplocbagisnotaccelerating.Thismeansthetotal forceonitmustaddupto0.Thatis,theforceoftherubberbandpullingupexactlycancelsout theforceofgravitypullingdownonthemass.Usingtheequationsgivenaboveforthesetwo forces,solvefortheelasticconstant,k,oftherubberband. Teachernote:theequationisk=mg/xwherexisthedistancestretched,misthemassofcandy, and g = 980cm 2 /sec istheaccelerationofgravity Theelasticconstantoftherubberbandisk=______________g/s2

Task3Timeofflight
Youwillcalculatethetimeittakesforyourprojectiletohitthegroundafteritislaunched. Timeofflightdependsonlyonstartingheightandonthegravitationalacceleration,g=980cm/s2 Itdoesnotdependonthemassoftheprojectileoronitshorizontalvelocityasitislaunched! 1. Usethemetersticktomeasuretheheightofthetablefromwhichyouwillbelaunchingthe projectile. Theprojectilewillbelaunchedfromheight_______________cm 2. Anobjectthatfallsataconstantaccelerationgforatimetwilltravelaverticaldistancehgiven by: 1 where g = 980 2 h = 2 2 3. Howlongwillittaketheprojectiletohitthefloorafteritislaunched?Solvetheequationfor time,plugginginthenumbersforheighthandaccelerationg. Thetimetofallfromthetopofthetabletothegroundis_____________seconds. 4. Ifyouaredoneandothermembersofyourgrouparestillworking,helpthemwiththeirtask.

Part2Ready,Aim,Fire
Topredicthowfartheprojectilewillfly,youneedtoknowthevelocityvwithwhichitleavesthe launcher.Tofindthisvelocity,wewillusetheconservationofenergy. Arubberbandwithelasticconstantk,stretchedadistancexstoresanenergyof: 1 Potential Energy = kx 2 2 Aobjectofmassm,movingatspeedvhasakineticenergyof: 1 Kinetic Energy = mv 2 2 Ifalltheenergystoredintherubberbandisconvertedintothekineticenergyoftheprojectile (Potential Energy=Kinetic Energy), solve for the velocity v of the projectile in terms of the variablesk,m,andx Answer: v = x k (equationusingk,m,x) m

1.PluginthevaluesyoumeasuredinPart1forthemassoftheprojectile (m) [Task1]andthe elasticconstantoftherubberband(k)[Task2]. Inthetablebelow,fillintheprojectilevelocityfordifferentvaluesofx Distancerubberband isstretched(x) 2cm 3cm 4cm Velocityof projectile(v) cm/sec cm/sec cm/sec Predicted FlightDistance cm cm cm MeasuredFlight Distance cm cm cm %Error

%errorinthe520%rangearetypical 2. Foreachrowinthetable,findthedistancethattheprojectileshouldtravel.Usethetimeof flightyoufoundinTask3.Remember,distance=rate*time. 3. Placethetargetsfromyourkitatthepredicteddistancesfromtheedgeofthetable.Ifthe floorisslippery,youmayneedtotapetheminplacetopreventthemfromsliding.

4. Thetailedgeoftheprojectilehasbeenmarkedat1cmintervals. Puttheprojectileinthe launcherasillustratedbelow.Makesuretheprojectileishorizontalasitislaunched.

5. Trylaunchingtheprojectilebypullingbacktothe2,3,and4cmmark.Everyoneshould haveachancetolaunch.Haveonepersonfromyourgroupstandtothesideandwatch wherethetipoftheprojectilelands. 6. Measuretheactualdistanceflownbytheprojectileandfillinthe4thcolumnofthetable.If youhavetime,doseverallaunchesandputintheaveragedistancetraveled. 7. Calculatetheerrorinyourpredictionsusing%error.Remembertofillinthevaluesinthe tableabove.

% Error =

( ) 100

Part3BonusChallenge
1. Askateacherorvolunteertoplaceatargetinfrontofyourtable.Yourgoalistofigureouthow farbackyouwanttopulltherubberbandsoastohitthetarget. Teachernote:trytoplacethetargetwithintherangeofdistancethatyouhavealreadyseenthe projectilefly.Ifthetargetisplacedtoofar,therubberbandwillhavetobestretchedtosuchan extentthattheusualelasticenergyequationswillnolongerhold. 2. Measurethedistanceofthetargetfromthetable.LookbacktoPart2tofigureouthowto dothecalculations Weareaimingforaflightdistance___________________cm. Toflythisdistance,theprojectileneedstobelaunchedwithspeedv=_________cm/s (v=desireddistance/time)

Toachievethisspeed,therubberbandneedstobepulledbackx=____________cm k (studentsshoulduse v = x tosolveforx) m 3. Makeamarkonyourprojectileforthelengththatyouwanttopullbackontherubberband. Trylaunchingtohitthetarget!Doseveraltries.Howclosewereyou?

1. Bywhatfactorwillthedistancethattheprojectileflieschange,ifthefollowingvariablesare altered: (a)Theprojectileistwiceasheavy. (b)Thetableistwiceashigh. (c.)Theelasticconstantoftherubberbandistwiceaslarge. (d)Youpulltherubberbandbacktwiceasfar (e)Youlaunchonthemoon,wheregravityis1/6thatofearth. 1/ 2 2 2 2 6

PostLabQuestions

2. Didyourcalculationstendtooverestimateorunderestimatethedistancewhichtheprojectile flew? If you overestimated, where did some of the stored potential energy go? If you underestimated,wheredidtheextraenergycomefrom? Mostlikelythecalculationswilloverestimatethedistance(theprojectilelandscloserthanthetarget). Thishappensbecausetheprojectilescrapesalongthesidesofthebasketasitislaunched,whichslows itdownbythetimeitleavethetable.Theextraenergygoesintotheheatgeneratedbyfriction.

3. Which of the following errors in measurement would have the greatest effect on your predictedflightdistance? 1 h = 2 v= 2 (a)A10%errorinmeasuringthemass. (b)A10%errorinmeasuringtheelasticconstant (c)A10%errorinmeasuringtheheightofthetable (d)A10%errorinmeasuringthedistancetowhichyoupullbacktherubberband (d)theothervariablesgounderasquarerootandthushavelessofaneffect

4. Howwouldthetimeofflightandthedistancetraveledbytheprojectilechangeifyouwere tolaunchatanangleupwardsratherthanhorizontallyoffthetable? Iftheprojectileislaunchedslightlyupward,thenitwillflyinaparabolicpath(firstmoving upabitandthendown).Thismeansitwilltakealongertotaltimeforittohittheground. Itstotalvelocityremainsunchanged(sincethesameamountofkineticenergyisgiventoit). However, some of that velocity goes into moving upward instead of forward. Thus the projectilehasalowerhorizontalspeedbuttravelsforalongertime.Thechangeinthe distancetraveleddependsontheexactangle.Launchingstraightupwouldmaximizethe timeoftravelbuttheprojectilewontgoanywhere.Ontheotherhand,launchingataslight anglewillincreasetheoveralldistancetraveled.Actually,themaximumdistanceisachieved ata45degreeangle.

5. Supposeyouhadasmanypenniesasyouwantedinyourkit,butyoudidnotknowthemassof apenny.Couldyoustilldothislabwiththematerialsprovided?Whatextrameasurement wouldberequiredorwhatmeasurementwouldyouchangeandhow? This questionmakes apointabouttheroleofunitsinphysicsequations.Thereis nothing specialabouttheunitofgramsformass.Wecouldjustaseasilyuseunitsofpennymass everywhereweseeamassinsteadofgrams.However,wemustalwaysbeconsistentinour units.Inthiscase,weusedthemassoftheprojectile,butalsothemassofthecandywhen measuringtheelasticconstant.Toworkinpennymassunits,youwouldneedtoeitherbalance thepackageofcandyagainstthepennies(tofinditsmassinunitsofpennies),oryoucouldjust usealotofpenniesinsteadofthepackageofcandyformeasuringtheelasticconstant