Physics of the Flying T-Shirt
Students investigate the physics behind launchesCopyright https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranged_weapon#/media/File:Trebuchet.jpg
Students are introduced to the physics concepts of air resistance and launch angle as they apply to catapults. This includes the basic concepts of position, velocity and acceleration and their relationships to one another. They use algebra to solve for one variable given two variables.
Engineers must fully understand basic science and math principles to design safe and effective devices. Understanding the physics of air resistance and launch angles applies to a wide variety of real-world situations such as vehicle design for fuel economy (cars, boats, airplanes, bicycles), weather pattern prediction, air duct systems, wind breaks, skydiving parachutes, athlete body position and gear, and launching satellites, weather balloon, rockets and data collection probes into the upper atmosphere and deep space, and precisely landing spacecraft and shuttles — as well as a shot from a catapult.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Describe air resistance and its importance in engineering design.
- Explain the importance of different launch angles.
- Calculate the position of an object given its velocity and acceleration.
- Explain the use of science and math in engineering projects.