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Trebuchet Arm Ratio Hypothesis

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Arm ratio
It was hypothesised for this variable that the longer the arm length, the greater the distance will be because of the centripetal force formula:
Fc=mv2r
When rearranged,
Fc rm=v
Shows that a higher radius value will result in a higher final velocity.

Results obtained from testing showed that the longer the arm ratio, the further the horizontal displacement will be.

During testing, videos were taken of the trebuchet in action. This was used to calculate the launch velocity and various angles. The calculations for this, shown in Appendix 1, are somewhat reliable but may be inaccurate in some areas.

The theoretical calculation for output force from the trebuchet arm was calculated (Appendix 3) and the result was compared to the result from the …show more content…

In contrast to this hypothesis, it was discovered that the experimental values deviate from the theoretical values when the counterweight falls more than 20 cm. This is due to the trebuchet shifting and rocking during launch which meant significant energy was lost during the launch.

The height of the counterweight was chosen as a variable because of the formula for GPE (gravitational potential energy) is GPE=MGHwhich is all multiplication, meaning the greater the height, the greater the GPE value will be. A higher GPE means higher energy input into the system which, according to the law of conservation of energy, means that theoretically, the output energy that ends up in the projectile is also greater. The law of conservation of energy which states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed, instead, it is transformed from one type to another.

The range likely started to drop after the release height of 22cm because this is the point at which the trebuchet shifts too much when launched which impacts the effectiveness of the

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