CATAPULT PROJECT
DESIGN PROCESS PROJECT
PHYSICS 40S
The days are evil, the nights worse. Serpents like Dragons are prowling the
Earth. Some fortified cities are running out of food, as their fields & flocks are
being ravaged by the dragons. Without those food supplies, many will perish.
Fortunately your city has not been as severely affected by the dragons, and you and
your kin have more food than you need.
Recently your king has received an envoy from neighboring kinships
requesting food, and explaining their plight. The food can not travel by land as it
will be intercepted by the vile fire dragons, nor can it travel by ship over seas, lakes
and rivers due to the infestation of water dragons.
The situation is dire! In a dream your king saw food falling from heaven in
large round bundles, and he believes that is the way the food must travel! The king
has selected YOUR TEAM, along with several others to devise a way to make food
fall from heaven. Go, and think deeply on this.
How can you make food fall from heaven in a desired spot, repeatedly?
If the cities get enough food, their collective armies will have the numbers
and the strength to vanquish the dragons from the land, restoring peace to the
Earth. {and coincidentally, all the engineers of the food casters will receive
unblemished marks on their completed journals, regardless of their technical
perfection, as long as they are complete. :) }
1
2
3
You and two or three other classmates form a team and use the need to form a team. You will
need a team name, and a coat of arms. Your king has appointed you a food caster.
You will use the
DESIGN PROCESS to come up with your final product.
I. DEFINE THE PROBLEM:
You need to build a working catapult (food caster) to satisfy the following design & construction
objectives:
- You need to build a LEVER ARM CATAPULT using the potential energy of gravity or of an
elastic substance. It needs to have been constructed by the group members. Parents, or
those very skilled in power tools can do the cutting, but the group members must be the
ones that actually put it all together and make it work. ALWAYS REMEMBER SAFETY
when working with or around power tools. You can get ideas from anywhere you want.
-
The catapult has to be able to fit easily through a single door; built within the following
dimensions:
< 70.0 cm width, < 200 cm in width, & < 200 cm in height, and has to be
fully built, and can fire 4 out of 5 squash balls >10.0 m.
It needs to have a smooth soft bottom so that it will NOT SCRATCH the gym floor.
{5 marks – all or nothing marks}
-
It needs to be calibrated, so that the SQUASH BALL (food bundles) can be launched
accurately to any distance of... 10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19, or 20 m. This will be
shown through markings on the catapult itself, the Target (castle) could be located at any
one of those distances.
The catapult’s trajectory must be less than the ceiling of the gym rafters. If your ball hits
the rafters the shot is still counted as an attempt, and the food bundle eaten by the wind
dragons. The catapult needs to be able to function in the gymnasium.
-
-
Level of precision [20 marks]: What is the difference in range between the 5 consecutive
shots, that were intended to hit the castle?
Very Tight < 0.5 m, Tight <1.0m, Modest <2.0m Marginal <3.0m Very Slight >3.0m
20 marks
18 marks
15 marks
11 marks
6 marks
-
Level of accuracy [25marks]: Number of times your catapult can hit a castle on a target
placed anywhere between 10.00 m to 20.00 m away within 5 tries. You get 25 marks for
every hit, 20 marks for the first circle around it, 15 marks for landing within the
second circle, 10 marks for landing within the third circle around the castle, and 5
marks if you simply hit the outside of the drop sheet. The castle dwellers are
not able to go beyond the edge of the mat as they would be unable to safely
return back into their castle before the dragons attacked them out in the
open.
Intro Day
Research Day
Design Review Day
Actual Catapult Peer Review Day
FOOD CASTING – Game Day Reflection Due Date:
4
:__Sept 14 2016___
:__Sept 16 2016___
:___Oct 6 2016___
:___Oct 17 2016___
: __ Nov 2 2016___
:___Nov 4 2016___
iI. INCREASE UNDERSTANDING: information, inspiration, & patterns
You will need to start with researching catapult design and construction. Our MBCI library
has several books on the subject, some with complete design plans with material lists and
measurements. You may build onagers, mangonels (using bungee cords), trebuchets, or
ballistas, lever arm catapults. You are also welcome to talk to former physics students,
family members, or anyone else who may have expertise it building catapults.
If possible, try and use recycled materials to keep your costs down. Talk to family and
friends, and I’m confident you will be able to rustle up most of the lumber you’ll need.
Take careful note of previous designs. Pay close attention to the proportions, and
methods of construction, especially with catapults that are known to have been very
successful.
If you are going to build a torsion catapult, like an onagers, or ballista, you may wish to do
some research on the best type of rope to use, and the types of rope to avoid.
Try to get several different blueprint designs, (patterns) and then note the key similarities
between them.
µ
5
iiI. Generate conceptS: POSSIBLE catapults Engineers Names: ___________________, ______________________, __________________________ Problem to address : Design a working (food caster) that is able to precisely &
accurately send squash balls (food bundles) to land in/on a
toy castle 10m -20m away.
Brainstorm Solutions: {Note: You may have more than 4 ideas, but you must at least have 3}
Idea 1
Idea 2
TYPE OF CATAPULT: (circle one)
TYPE OF CATAPULT: (circle one)
Type of energy source:
o Gravity
o Tension
o Torsion
Type of construction material (one or more)
• Wood
• Metal
• Plastic
• Composite fibre ( like hockey sticks)
Type of axis:
• Metal rod
• Wooden dowel
• Ball bearings
‘Special’ ’features:
• State…
Type of energy source:
o Gravity
o Tension
o Torsion
Type of construction material: (one or more)
• Wood
• Metal
• Plastic
• Composite fibre ( like hockey sticks)
Type of axis:
• Metal rod
• Wooden dowel
• Ball bearings
‘Special’ ’features:
• State…
NAME:
NAME:
SKETCH:
SKETCH:
Idea 3
Idea 4
onagers, mangonels, trebuchets, or
ballistas,
onagers, mangonels, trebuchets, or
ballistas,
Type of energy source:
o Gravity
o Tension
o Torsion
Type of construction material: (one or more)
• Wood
• Metal
• Plastic
• Composite fibre ( like hockey sticks)
Type of axis:
• Metal rod
• Wooden dowel
• Ball bearings
‘Special’ ’features:
• State…
Type of energy source:
o Gravity
o Tension
o Torsion
Type of construction material: (one or more)
• Wood
• Metal
• Plastic
• Composite fibre ( like hockey sticks)
Type of axis:
• Metal rod
• Wooden dowel
• Ball bearings
‘Special’ ’features:
• State…
NAME:
NAME:
SKETCH:
SKETCH:
onagers, mangonels, trebuchets, or
ballistas,
onagers, mangonels, trebuchets, or
ballistas,
TYPE OF CATAPULT: (circle one)
TYPE OF CATAPULT: (circle one)
6
iiI. Concept SELECTION: Making our catapult The IDEA that we chose was:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
__________________________
…Because_______________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
Resources that we will need:
Material List
Why we need it
Who is responsible to get it
Sketch your catapult design here include the dimensions you are thinking of in your design:
7
iV. DESIGN REALIZATION: MAKING CATPULT 1.0 create
Create your first version of your CATAPULT, based on you concept
selection.
Remember the design limitations.
- You need to build a LEVER ARM CATAPULT using the potential energy
of gravity, torsion, and or tension. It needs to have been constructed by
the group members. Parents, or those very skilled in power tools can
do the cutting, but the group members must be the ones that actually put
it all together and make it work.
- ALWAYS REMEMBER SAFETY when working with or around power
tools. If you are not skilled MAKE SURE YOU ARE SUPERVISED BY A
SKILLED ADULT.
- Always where safety goggles when working with power tools.
-
-
The catapult has to be able to fit easily through a single door; built within
the following dimensions: < 70.0 cm width, < 200 cm in width, & < 200
cm in height, and has to be fully built, and can fire 4 out of 5 squash balls
>10.0 m.
It needs to have a smooth soft bottom so that it will NOT SCRATCH the
gym floor.
µ
tESt
Test it using a squash ball. Hopefully you can test it in a dry and low wind
environment. Do multiple tests, then change the force and test some
more.
REfIne
Are you happy with its performance? How could it be better? What could
you do differently to get a better result? Use all the critical thinking and
knowledge you’ve gained up to this point in the process. Go around and
around the design cycle numerous times, until you are satisfied.
Photograph and document the stages of your process
µ
create
refine
test
8
fInal design
Once you have gone through the CREATE-TEST-REFINE cycle at least
once, you have a product to bring to the class to have peer reviewed.
Once it has been peer reviewed & critiqued you may wish to improve it
even further using your new insights.
Once you have a product you are really happy with, you have your FINAL
DESIGN, and are ready for ‘game day’.
Demonstrate your preferred product on 'GAME DAY'.
µ
The catapult group that hits the castle the greatest # of times
will win the title of :
CATAPULT CHAMPIONS!
There will be bonus awarded:
- Bonus for dressing up as a team +1
- Bonus for painting your food caster so it looks awesome +1
- Bonus for the most awesomely painted and adorned food caster +2!
Remember if the collective number of food deposits on all the castles is equal to that
of number of groups participating then ALL food caster teams will be granted
unblemished marks on their completed journals, as long as they submit a photo
journal of their design, build, and testing, process, regardless of their technical
perfection, as long as the submitted journals are complete.
You will all win if you help each other.
[Note: The collective number of food deposits required to earn journal reprieve will
be reduced by 1 for every 4 teams that dress up. Thus if there are 8 team, and
everyone dresses up… the castle will only need to receive 6 food deposits! ]
TOGETHER we can defeat the dragons!
9
Parental Evaluation of
Safety & Cleanliness
Project Behaviour
Name of students in group:___________________________________
:___________________________________
:___________________________________
The students are responsible for the complete clean-up of all their
experimentation, and supplies. They are to treat their work areas with respect,
and to ensure that no damage is done.
Dear Parent,
Thank you for allowing the students to work on their group project in your home.
Please check the ONE option below that most closely describes the students
safety and cleanliness.
I was COMPLETELY IMPRESSED with their level of safety and the way they took care of
things. They cleaned up after themselves. They left things as clean or cleaner than they found
them.
The students consistently worked safely & cleaned up.
The students worked safely, but I had to do some to do a little bet of extra tidying once they were
done.
There was the occasional mess I had to clean up, and or their actions made me feel anxious.
The student(s) got hurt in the process.
The students clean up was SADLY NOT adequate and or they were a little unsafe.
Parent’s full name (please print) :________________________
Parent’s signature
:________________________
Date
:____________
Additional (optional) Comments:
10
v. REflect
Submit an INDIVIDUAL reflection of your progress throughout the project, using
the template
For each of the following questions, write 3-4 complete sentences. Write
THOUTGHTFUL answers.
Include specific details about methodology, the recipe, how you followed the design
process.
“It was good because it worked” is not a quality answer!
This is worth 20 communication points.
1. How may times did you go through the create-test-refine cycle? What did you learn
through each iteration? Use labelled photos in your answer.
2. What were the weaknesses of your design? Why? Use labelled photos in your
answer.
3. Was your design a success compared to your expectations? Compared to other
products? Explain in detail. (Remember – you need 3-4 sentences, not jus “Yes” or
“no”)
4. What did you learn about conducting a valid experiment and gathering significant
amounts of usable data? Use labelled photos in your answer.
5. What would you change about the way your GROUP worked on this challenge and
why?
6. What would you change about the way YOU worked on this challenge and why?
The reflection will be marked based on the following three criteria: o Readability. The correct use of grammar & punctuation o Level of insight/awareness o Level of detail and elaboration included On a scale of High (3), Moderate (2), or Low (1) for each question.
11
Peer Review of Catapult Design plans:
[Date: ] µ
Take pictures of your participation during this period for your journal.
Food Casters :___________________________________________ sec:___
____________________________________________ sec:___
____________________________________________ sec:___
Student receives one mark per check mark, as evaluated by their peers. Quality of design plans submitted to review: o Had a very well illustrated scale drawing (OR picture) of the desired catapult o Had actual required measurements shown on the diagram o Had additional clarifying sentences o Had close up diagrams of the more complex aspects o Was neat and well drawn Detailed materials list Materials, sources, and costs chart o Had a material, sources, and costs chart. o All materials listed had a source where the material could be found and an approximate cost. o The materials list included all the parts visible in their design plan. o The materials list included approximate amount, and type, of the necessary small items like nails, screws, or glue. o The chart was neat and well formatted Types of skills needed to build it, tools involved, the name of person(s) doing each skill, and the safety precautions needed for each skill. Skills, Tools, Person responsible chart, and safety precautions needed o Had a ‘skills, tools, person responsible, and safety precautions needed’ chart o All the various skill needed to build the design were identified. o Strong evidence of SAFE work habits are planned for o Strong evidence of a well thought through procedure o The chart was neat and well formatted. Task & skills required sequence time line of the build & test of catapult. o Had a task & skill sequence time line o Strong evidence that the sequence was very deliberate and carefully thought through o Time line included actual dates and times for tasks o Looks like a very well thought through plan o Contains parental consent for each of the students involved in the build of the entire design plan proposal. NOTE: The catapult project can NOT PROCEED without signed parental consent. 12
/20 [CiD]
Peer Review of Actual Catapult Prior to Game Day [ ] µ
Take pictures of your participation during this period for your journal.
Food Casters :___________________________________________ sec:___
____________________________________________ sec:___
____________________________________________ sec:___
Each item is an all or nothing mark.
If a group does not bring a catapult, they will
forfeit all marks for this peer review.
Students presented a WORKING catapult, which they built themselves.
/10 marks Group presented their actual catapult, in between 7 -­‐ 10 minutes, to other groups, and explained why they built it as they did /5 marks iiI. Generate conceptS: POSSIBLE catapults and iiI. Concept SELECTION: Making our catapult and iV. DESIGN REALIZATION: MAKING CATPULT 1.0 Group responded to the other teams feedback with a commitment to
change/improve one or more aspects of their catapult.
/2 marks Group gave constructive feedback to each of the other groups that were
presenting to them. /3 marks /20 [CiD]
13
CATAPULT GAME DAY [ ] RUBRIC Food Casters :___________________________________________ sec:___
____________________________________________ sec:___
____________________________________________ sec:___
µ
Take pictures of your participation during this period for your journal.
Dressed up in a team costume on launch day
Painted their catapult so it looked awesome
/+1 mark
/+1 mark
Ø Catapult works & shoots at least 4 out of 5 balls > 10.0m
and easily fits through a door frame.
PRECISION
/5 marks
/20 marks
Very Tight < 0.5 m, Tight <1.0m, Modest <2.0m Marginal <3.0m Very Slight >3.0m
20 marks
18 marks
15 marks
11 marks
6 marks
ACCURACY
Shot #
Missed
Mat
0 marks
1
2
3
4
5
hit the mat 3rd ring
5 marks
10 marks
2nd ring
15 marks
TOTAL ACCURACY MARKS
1st ring
20 marks
CASTLE!
25 marks
/25 marks
Game Day mark:
/50
Note: The maximum mark recorded is 100%
Together we can defeat the dragons!
14
:)
[CiD]
CATAPULT INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION RUBRIC [ ] Food Casters :___________________________________________ sec:___
INDIVIDUAL PERSONAL REFLECTION (Due the class after game day)
Submitted in well labelled slim folder, {Title, Group Names, Class & Sec}
/2 Has Title page with title, Group member’s names, class & sec, teacher, date
/18
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. How may times did you go through the create-test-refine cycle? What did you learn through each iteration? Use
labelled photos in your answer.
What were the weaknesses of your design? Why? Use labelled photos in your answer.
Was your design a success compared to your expectations? Compared to other products? Explain in detail.
(Remember – you need 3-4 sentences, not jus “Yes” or “no”)
What did you learn about conducting a valid experiment and gathering significant amounts of usable data?
What would you change about the way your GROUP worked on this challenge and why?
What would you change about the way YOU worked on this challenge and why?
§ Readability. The correct use of grammar & punctuation § Level of insight/awareness § Level of detail and elaboration included
On a scale of High (3), Moderate (2), or Low (1) for each question.
[Remember – If the class as a whole hits the castle as many times as there are catapults, then each group only needs to submit a labeled photo journal of their process, as opposed to a well written comprehensive journal with photos.] µ
/20 [CiD]
15
CATAPULT PROJECT OVERAL MARK Food Casters :___________________________________________ sec:___
____________________________________________ sec:___
____________________________________________ sec:___
Peer Review of Catapult Design plans: /20 [ ] Peer Review of Actual Catapult Class Prior to Game Day: /20 CATAPULT GAME DAY Mark: /50 [ , Nov. ] [ , Nov. ] {bonus available} Individual Reflection Mark: /20 [due 1 cycle after ‘game day’] [Remember – If the class as a whole hits the castle as many times as there are catapults, then each group only needs to submit a labeled photo journal of their process, as opposed to a well written comprehensive journal with photos.] µ
Total mark:
/110
[CiD]
Note: the maximum mark allowed is 110 marks J 16