Overview:
In this tutorial, you will learn about the relationship between mass, force, and energy as you calculate the velocity and acceleration of the cannonball on your worksheet. You will begin by opening lesson two and looking at how the mass and force sliders you used in the last lesson affect the energy involved in a catapult launching a projectile. When you’ve used your sliders to change the energy being used in your catapult, you will launch the ball and track the energy associated with the ball through its arc between the catapult and the ground. Using the law of conservation of energy, you will explain how energy is used and transferred by the catapult. Using one of the kinematic equations, you will be calculating the acceleration of your cannonball for two different sets of mass and force values. When you have finished with the lesson, you will move on to the boxes free play activity and track the energy needed to knock down all the boxes.    
Project Outcome:
You will be able to explain the relationship between mass, force, potential energy, and kinetic energy. You will use kinematic equations to find the acceleration of a cannonball launched from a catapult. Using what you've learned, you will find the optimal mass, force, and energy needed to knock down a stack of blocks. 
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
Adjust the mass of a cannonball and the force being used to launch it and understand the relationship between mass, force and energy.
Understand the relationship between elastic potential energy and kinetic energy.
Understand the relationship between the kinetic energy involved in the launch of a cannonball and the gravitational potential energy that a cannonball gains as it travels higher.
Explain the relationship between the law of conservation of energy and the way a catapult launches a cannonball.
Use a kinematic equation to find the acceleration of a ball as it launches from a catapult.
*Note: The law of conservation of energy and the kinematic equations can be found in the Formulas and More document.

Materials

CatapultPhysics.zip

Lesson 2.pdf

Worksheet.pdf

Formulas and More.pdf

Select your Unity version

Last updated: February 05, 2024

2022.3

2018.3

Language

English

Also included in

ProjectCatapult Physics; Forces, and Energy

Lesson 2: Energy