Catapult Lab

The catapult lab conducted in physics helped demonstrate applied techniques of projectile motion. Through the use of a homemade catapult, I analyzed the factors that contribute to how far and fast a marble is shot. Although some data proved to be inconsistent and challenging to measure, being able to shoot a marble from a stool and accurately predict where it was going to land on a small target was a success. Watching the marble execute a nearly perfect target shot in the second half of the lab accomplished the lab’s original goal. Even though the structure of the catapult and natural deficiencies in data caused by human error and nature may have thrown off the accuracy of the data, the catapult lab was a complete and wholesome success.
The catapult lab, although successful, proved to provide numerous challenges. During the execution of this experiment, the collection of the original data was inconsistent. My data was far more accurate than most other class members’ data, but the

Although the angle I had the catapult pointing on the stool was slightly off, the distance was still highly accurate. Thus, the marble would have landed on the “4” section on the target sheet. Applying the techniques learned about projectile motion helped me accurately predict where the marble was going to land when it was shot from the stool. Deficiencies in the lab can be attributed to many reasons. The lack in consistency concerning the time and length of the shot is chiefly because of how the catapult was crafted and the materials it was created with. Data inconsistencies can also be credited to the making of the catapult as well. The deficiency in where the marble landed when it was shot from the stool was due to the angle the catapult was shooting towards. Majority of the causes of deficiencies were due to either the construction of the catapult or human