Cannon Calibration Lab; Cannon #______
Name:______Date:______
Objective: Calculate how fast the cannonball leaves the cannon “Vx” for various cannon power settings, then use this calibration to fire at set targets.
Safety:
1) Must ware safety goggles
2) Never fire cannon without instructions
3) Cannon Must always be level before firing
Pre-lab Calculation: (5pts)
Procedure:
1) Finding the cannonball speed.
Cannon Safety:
This is a potentially very dangerous lab due to the high velocity projectile being shot. To avoid all heath risks, wear safety goggles, only aim the cannon towards the wall during testing, never fire until all group members are ready, never look down the barrel of the cannon, and only fire into the padded box. Horse play will result in immediate dismissal upon further consequence as stated in the student handbook.
1) Place the cannonball in the cannon and tilt the cannon back so that the ball rest against the dowel rod in the cannon. Pull back to the indicated notch and fire through the speed trap into a padded box. Be sure to convert km/hr into m/s.
Table 1 (5pts)
Notch # / Trial 1Speed / Trial 2
Speed / Trial 3
Speed / Average Speed (km/hr) / Average Speed
(m/s)
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Calibration: On graph paper, plot very neatly
(Notch # Vs. Vx) for notches 2 – 11. Label you axis (10 pts)
Ballistic Testing Site:
(Homework)Complete before the Day of testing
Sample calculation for find the projectile speed:
Find how fast the cannon must shoot to hit the target.
Target#:______Calcs: (Show all work) (5pts)
Height Yi:______Distance to target Xf:______
t = √(2Yi/9.8) V = X/t
V = ______Circle your accuracy: 1 2 3 4 5
Target#:______Calcs: (Show all work) (5pts)
Height Yi:______Distance to target Xf:______
t = √(2Yi/9.8) Vx = Xf/t
Vx = ______Circle your accuracy: 1 2 3 4 5
Target#:______Calcs: (Show all work) (5pts)
Height Yi:______Distance to target Xf:______
t = √(2Yi/9.8) Vx = Xf/t
Vx = ______Circle your accuracy: 1 2 3 4 5
Target#:______Calcs: (Show all work) (5pts)
Height Yi:______Distance to target Xf:______
t = √(2Yi/9.8) Vx = Xf/t
Vx = ______Circle your accuracy: 1 2 3 4 5
Questions: (10 pts)
1) List at least 3 possible errors that affected your calculations.
2) Why does the x-comp of velocity not change:
3) If a projectile were slung into the air, what would the motion of its shadow on the ground resemble?
4) If a projectile were slung into the air, what would the motion of its shadow on a wall resemble?
5) When is the horizontal component of projectile motion affected?
6) For a project shot horizontally show what the following graph would look like:
X-comp Distance Vs. Time Y-comp Distance Vs. Time
7) A bomb is dropped from a B-52. What would the path of the bomb look like from the pilot’s point of view?
8) A projectile is launched horizontally with a velocity of 290 m/s. When is the total velocity the greatest and why?