Physics-HL IA

RQ: to investigate how the extension length of the catapult affects the distances
travelled by the object?

Rationale:
I have always tried different and crazy things in my life like this and this is
because I question a lot. From I childhood I’ve been into science. Whenever I
used to play with a catapult I used to question a lot about how did this happen,
why is there always a difference in distances these questions always comes in
my mind and I wanted to know more about this. So I’ve decided to do my
physics IA on this topic. I wanted to know more about catapult and I always
wanted to know the reason behind this and what is the science in this. My
interest in playing with catapults has inspired me to think more upon this topic.
I am very curious to investigate how these distances differ.

Hypothesis:
When you extend a flexible elastic band, you store potential versatile vitality
inside it. At the point when the elastic band is discharged, the potential flexible
vitality will be changed into a similar measure of dynamic vitality. This will
make the elastic band move, and the more motor vitality we have, the more
drawn out the elastic band will fly. In this way, the all the more extending
performed on the elastic band, the more it will fly.

Introduction:
The distance travelled does depend on the amount the rubber band is initially
stretched. One easy way to see this is by means of an energy argument: The
potential energy stored in the rubber band is proportional to the square of the
stretched length. Once released, this energy is converted to kinetic energy of the
rubber band, therefore, the longer it is stretched, the more kinetic energy it gets,
and thus, the further it travels. I'm assuming the holding hand is at rest during
the release of the rubber band, otherwise you would need to add the mechanical
work provided by the holding hand's displacement during launch. One way to
verify this would be by using a(stationary) sling-shot. The further the rubber
band is stretched, the further will the chalk travel

Material required:
1. Catapult
2. Chalk pieces with same mass
3. Scale
4. Black sheets
5. Table
Variables:
i) Independent variables:
In this experiment, the extension length of the catapult would be increased,
hence being the independent variable.

ii) Dependent variables:

Distance where the chalk will fall will depend on the extension length as the
extension length increases, distance also increases, hence being the dependent
variable.

iii) Controlled variables:

A number of factors like the applied force on the catapult (0N), height of the
table from where the chalk will be launched and mass of the chalk are the
controlled variables. These controlled variables, if changed, can directly affect
the experiment.

Mass of the ball: 2g

Height of the table: 500cm

Setup:
Procedure:
 First, I prepared a setup for this experiment which included a
catapult, a chalk of mass 2g, a table and a scale.
 Before conducting the experiment, I ensured that each and every
factor other than the height of the table remain constant.

 Now after preparing this setup I started the experiment and I took
various readings by launching the chalk from various extensions.

 Now after conducting the experiment I compared the various

results and tried to analyse them all.

 This result which I got helped me to do a lot of analysis after which

I wrote my analysis and conclusion.
  At last now I got to know the affect of various factors on the
distance of the chalk thrown from a height approaching the ground
level.

Raw data table:

Length(cm) Distance(cm)
D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6
10 212 213 212 214 210 215
11 245 245 246 244 244 246
12 265 267 267 266 266 265
13 316 316 317 318 317 315
14 397 397 398 398 396 397
15 434 435 435 433 434 434
16 455 456 456 456 457 455
17 472 473 473 474 475 472
18 520 521 521 522 523 521
19 561 562 560 561 562 562
20 605 607 607 608 608 610

Processed data table:

Length(cm) D average Uncertainty

10 212.6666667 2.5

11 245 1.0

12 266 1.0

13 316.5 1.5

14 397.1666667 1.0

15 434.1666667 1.0

16 455.8333333 1.0
 17 473.1666667 1.5

18 521.3333333 1.5

19 561.3333333 1.0

20 607.5 2.5

Graph:

Graph
Series1 Linear (Series1)

700
607.5
600 561.3333333
521.3333333
500 473.1666667
455.8333333
434.1666667
397.1666667
400
Distance

316.5
300 266
245
212.6666667
200

100

0
0 5 10 Length 15 20 25

Graph analysis:
Above is the graph that shows the length of the catapult against distance
travelled by the chalk from the table. The line that is passing through all the
points is called the best line and there are error bars seen with the gradient in the
graph. The best line is passing through all the error bars showing that there is
some error in the result. According to the graph we can say that the extension
length is directly proportional to the distance. As we increase the length of the
catapult, the distance travelled by the chalk also increases.
Calculations:
Average distance travelled by the chalk was calculated by the following
formula:
 sum of trials
𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 =
number of trials

𝑑1+𝑑2+𝑑3+𝑑4+𝑑5+𝑑6
𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 =
6
For example:
1. Average distance for the length 10cm

212 + 213 + 212 + 214 + 210 + 215

𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 =
6

Average distance= 212.6cm

2. Average distance for the length 11cm

245 + 245 + 246 + 244 + 244 + 246

𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 =
6

Average distance= 245cm

There were some uncertainty in this experiment which was calculated by

using the following formula:

maximum−minimum
Uncertainty=
2

For example:

1. Uncertainty at the distance 10cm:

215 − 210
𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑦 =
2

Uncertainty=2.5

2. Uncertainty at the distance 11cm:

246 − 244
𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑦 =
2

Uncertainty=1.0
Finding the value of the constant ‘K’ by the gradient:

Here, ‘h’ is the height of the table from the ground

‘y’ is the distance travelled by the chalk
‘x’ is the extension length
‘v’ is the speed of the chalk
‘m’ is the mass of the chalk

Derivation:

1 2 1
𝑘𝑥 = 𝑚𝑣 2
2 2

2
𝑘𝑥 2
𝑣 =
𝑚
1
ℎ = 𝑔𝑡 2
2
2ℎ
𝑡2 =
𝑔
 𝑑
𝑣=
𝑡

𝑦=𝑣×𝑡

𝑘𝑥 2 2ℎ
𝑦= √ ×√
𝑚 𝑔

2𝑘ℎ
𝑦=√ ×𝑥
𝑚𝑔

Gradient of the graph ‘y’ against ‘x’ will give the value of ‘k’