Trebuchet

Back in medieval times trebuchets were used to throw rock or projectiles to enemy castles. In class we were asked to build one and collect data about it. The trebuchet had relation to some concept I learned in second quarter. First, I can relate it to Newton’s First Law because the marble would not go into motion unless a force is applied to it. Also I related it with Newton’s Second Law which explains why the marble went further away or closer to the trebuchet. And last but not least, the relation of forces which was applied to the trebuchet in order for it to throw the marble.

Newton's first law states that if the vector sum of the forces acting on an object is zero, the object will remain at rest or moving at constant speed. The fact that the force exerted on an object is zero does not necessarily mean that its speed is zero. If the marble is not subjected to any force including friction, it will continue moving at constant speed. However, while the marble is still on the pouch of the trebuchet and no force is acting upon it, it will not move. But, once force is applied to the marble it will be send away until other force stops it.

Newton’s Second Law states that a massive object will resist acceleration and the more force is applied to the object the more it will accelerate. Due to Newton’s second law the equation F= m*a was formed. With this formula we can calculate the acceleration, mass and strength that is needed for the projectile to move, for example to move a body we apply a force but if you increase the mass also have to increase strength, and this may decrease the acceleration.

Forces on the trebuchet go straight down because of the gravity that acts upon those forces. The gravity force acts on the counterweight which is just waiting to be released and go down. The counterweight creates a tension force on the sling bringing it up. The projectile arm will then apply force to the projectile which will result in the projectile being thrown away....