Projectile Launcher Calibration
There are 10 projectile launchers. Organize yourselves into groups of 3 or 2, with one launcher per group.
Select a projectile and personalize it so that you can identify it. It will be stored in a folder with everyone else's.
On the left side (A5/6), or the right side (A7/8) of the launcher barrel (from a perspective looking along the barrel in the direction of fire), create a suitable scale to identify power settings on your launcher. You may use the old scale (if there is one), draw a new scale next to or over the old one, or cover the old one with tape and draw a new scale on your tape. If you choose tape, plan for the possibility of your tape coming off.
Prepare your launcher for shooting. Directions will be provided in class.
Begin shooting and calibrating your launcher
You will need to do this in the hallway, so be respectful of other classes. Be quiet and try to stay away from their doorways as much as possible.
Obtain a stool, and figure out how to ensure that your stool top is level, so that you can fire horizontally from the stool. You might want to use an app. If you have the new iphone operating system, the level is in the “measure” app.
Find a location from which you can shoot unobstructed horizonantal shots -- probably somewhere in a hallway, facing a wall.
Shoot your projectile and use its X and Y displacements to calculate its initial velocity.
Tinker with your launcher until you are happy with its performance. In our class competition, your projectile's v0 may need to attain speeds between 0m/s and 10m/s, but there is no benefit to shooting faster than this.
Create a three column calibration table with at least 10 rows of data. The first column should indicate your power setting. The second column should be X displacement for each shot, and the third column is for your calculated vo for each power setting. Your data should be evenly spaced, with regard to power setting (e.g. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10.... or 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...)
Later -- use the data from your table to create a graph of "Initial Velocity vs. Power Setting."