How to Build a Simple Catapult

Lena and Petya were eagerly awaiting their new experiment in the workshop. Today, they decided to build their own catapult. This project was not only an opportunity for them to practice building, but also a chance to study the physical laws behind the movement of objects. Lena found an interesting guide in a book, and they decided to build a catapult using just a few simple materials: sticks, rubber bands, and some creativity.

“Did you know that a catapult is an ancient weapon used to throw stones or other objects over long distances?” Lena began, showing Petya a picture of a catapult in her book. “We can build our own catapult that will launch small objects, just like a real one!”

Petya looked at the picture with interest and replied:

“Really? That sounds like fun! But how are we going to make something like that from sticks and rubber bands?”

Lena smiled:

“It’s very simple! We’ll use sticks to build the base of the catapult, rubber bands to give it the force for launching, and a lever mechanism to launch the object. It will be a real experiment with physics!”

The kids began gathering all the necessary materials. Lena brought ice cream sticks, rubber bands, a small spoon to use as a lever, and some wooden skewers. Petya carefully laid out the materials on the table and said:

“Let’s start by making the base of the catapult,” he suggested, handing Lena the ice cream sticks.

Lena took several sticks and began gluing them together to form a rectangular base. Once the base was ready, Petya added a few more sticks to reinforce the structure.

“Great! Now we need to attach the lever that will launch the object,” said Lena, holding the small spoon. “We’ll attach the spoon to one of the sticks so it can move freely, and we’ll add a rubber band to create the necessary tension.”

Lena carefully attached the spoon to one of the sticks using a rubber band so that it could snap back when pulled. Petya suggested:

“Let’s attach the rubber band at the end of the catapult to help us with the launch power!”

Lena agreed and attached the rubber band to the appropriate part of the catapult. Now they had a mechanism with a lever and tension that could launch the object.

When the catapult was almost ready, Petya suggested testing it:

“Let’s see how it works! We can use small balls or even paper balls!”

Lena happily agreed. The kids placed a small paper ball in the spoon of the catapult and stretched the rubber band. They carefully released the lever and were amazed to watch the ball quickly shoot out of the spoon and fly across the room!

“Wow! It works! Look how far it went!” Petya exclaimed, happily watching the result.

Lena nodded and added:

“It’s all thanks to the tension in the rubber band. When we pull the rubber band, we store energy that is released, and this process allows us to launch the object!”

The kids continued experimenting, changing the size of the balls and trying to make them fly further. They noticed that if the rubber band was stretched tighter, the object flew further, and if it was loosely stretched, the shot was weaker.

“This is just like a real catapult! We could come up with whole games using this mechanism,” said Petya, standing next to the catapult.

Lena suggested:

“Let’s have a competition to see who can shoot the ball the furthest. Or we can try launching different objects and see which one flies the furthest!”

The kids set up a real competition, picking different objects to test which ones could fly the farthest. They used paper balls, small plastic balls, and even stones, trying to understand how the shape and weight of the object affected its flight distance.

“We learned how a catapult works and how we can use different materials to create efficient mechanisms,” Petya said, pleased with the result of their work.

Lena agreed:

“Yes, we not only built a catapult but also learned about tension, energy, and mechanisms! This was a great activity that showed how physics can be fun and interesting!”

After they finished the project, Lena and Petya realized that with simple materials and construction principles, you can create real mechanisms. This experiment was not only educational but also exciting, as they learned how to build a catapult and use it for various purposes!