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Whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it nor anything taken from it. Ecclesiastes 3:14

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Tim's Science Project, 8th Grade


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Awards Earned:

2nd Place, 8th Physical Science, PCA Science Fair
1st Place, 8 Physical Science, ACSI Regional Science Fair
Honorable Mention, Physics, Lehigh Valley Science Fair

 Photograph of Tim's Science Project
Problem to be Solved:

Is the distance of a certain mass when launched by a catapult affected by the potential energy and angle of the catapult?

Hypothesis:

The object will go further when it has more potential energy, but the potential energy will be affected by the angle. When the angle is at (or around) 60 degrees from the ground, it will go the furthest when it has more potential energy.

Procedure:

1. Obtain materials

  • Legos
  • Super glue
  • Ping pong ball
  • Rubber bands
  • Communion cup
  • Sand
  • Plastic garbage bags
  • Metric measuring tape
  • Ruler
  • Protector
11. Build homemade catapult out of Legos, rubber bands, and super glue.
12. Create measuring runway out of plastic bags, sand, a metric measuring tape, and a ruler.
13. Position the catapult at a 90 degree angle from runway.
14. Put pegs in catapult to create certain angle.
15. Give potential energy to catapult.
16. Launch ping pong ball.
17. Measure and record.
18. Repeat steps 6-7 ten times with the same amount of potential energy and angle.
19. Change angle.
20. Repeat steps 7-10 until all 5 angles have been tested. Then change potential energy.
21. Repeat steps 7-11 until all angle and potential energy experiments have been tested.

Control: mass of projectile

Variable: angle and potential energy 

Conclusion:

The potential energy and angle did affect the distance of a launch ping-pong ball. My hypothesis was wrong in that the ping-pong ball went farther at ninety degrees rather than around sixty degrees. My hypothesis was right in that the more potential energy you had the farther the ping-pong ball went. It was also discovered that for every interval of potential energy the distance of the projectile decreased or increased by about fifty percent in distance, and for every interval of angle the distance of the projectile decreased or increased about five percent. 

Biblical Application:

In this project, a ping-pong ball was launched to test the laws of physics. The laws of physics will never change. Nothing any one does can break them. They cannot be broken because of God. Anything that God makes cannot be destroyed or added to. It is forever because God is forever. He is unchanging throughout all of eternity. Ecclesiastes 3:14 says "Whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it nor anything taken from it."


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