Trebuchet Research Paper

A trebuchet is a medieval device that uses gravitational PE to launch a projectile. A trebuchet has both an effort side (the side with a counterweight) and a load side ( where the sling is attached). It works by loading the sling and letting the weight fall, which in turn, launches the projectile via the falling counterweight. The stand adds stability and height to the counterweight, which gives more distance for the projectile to fly. Medieval trebuchets are much larger, but for this project its benign to launch smaller objects (like candy). A high-scoring trebuchet must meet the following criteria: it must launch the projectile forward a considerable distance, and must hit the target consistently. For this project, 2 weeks was the allotted time we were given …show more content…
We were also given a finite amount of materials, such as 1 paperclip, 1 straw, 12 pencils, 1 paper plate and 2 washers. Construction of the trebuchet started by designing a base out of pencils, skewers and popsicle sticks. The arm was made from skewers and popsicle sticks. After that, we built the arm and reinforced the stability of the base. The accepted ratio for the arm was 3.75:1, and to honor that we settled on a ratio of 3 popsicle sticks to 1. To test the trebuchet, we placed a target 2 meters away from it. Adjustments were made to both the trebuchet and the target so the projectile consistently hit the target. After the official testing was conducted, the maximum distance traveled by the projectile was 1.6 meters, with a total of 1 shot hitting the outer target and 5 shots hitting the base of the outer target. When we calculated the maximum theoretical distance that the projectile could travel, the sum came to 1.5 meters. The maximum theoretical distance means the greatest possible distance that the projectile could travel, considering the conditions were ideal. Next, we ran efficiency calculations for the

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