Building the mousetrap catapult required me to do some thinking structure wise. To make the catapult work, I first had to figure out how to even launch a projectile with it.
I decided that I would use a spoon to launch a test wad of duct tape:
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| Catapult version 1 |
The wad flew relatively far, but I noticed it skidded on the ground a lot before reaching its furthest point. I thought up of a new design to improve my old one and came up with this:
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| Catapult version 2 |
I stuck two eraser on top of one another to stop the hammer from snapping the spoon all the way to the other side. This gave the wad more time to travel through the air before it hit the ground. It landed much further than my first model, much to my relief.
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| Stacked Erasers |
I thought over my catapult a little and then decided to add a metal spoon. However, the spoon was too heavy and slowed down the initial velocity at which the wad left the catapult. Disassembling the contraption was a nuisance.
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| Catapult version 3 |
In the end, I added a stool under my project by 1 foot to give it a height boost. The duct tape wad went further than when it was on the ground. I also put my plastic spoon back on, after the metal one proved to be useless.
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| Final Catapult version 4 |
Of course, like any project involving things that snap, I had my share of technical problems such as injuring my finger, breaking the mousetrap, trying to find mousetraps in the store, and getting duct tape stuck in my hair. One of my biggest problems I faced was the fact that when the hammer snapped, the back side of the mouse trap came up and the projectile went off course. I solved this problem by taping the mouse trap down to the top of my stool.
Overall it was a fun experience and much better than doing my other homework. Hopefully I don't fail when we launch ping pong balls next Monday
