Sixth-grade students at Chardon Middle School recently used catapults obtained through a grant that enhanced their learning experience...
Students Experiment With Catapults
Sixth-grade students at Chardon Middle School recently used catapults obtained through a grant that enhanced their learning experience.
The students learned about elastic potential energy and how to calculate speed for science standards. They then graphed their data on the coordinate plane and calculated the average speed of the projectiles launched by the catapults.
Their goal was to create a “castle wall” out of 25 paper cups. The walls had to be at least one foot tall and each cup had to be touching at least two other cups.
After the walls were constructed, the students used their catapults to launch ping pong balls at their classmates’ castle walls, aiming to knock down as many cups as possible.
