The Student Council organized a potato throwing contest on the school field. Students used

catapults to shoot the potatoes into the air and down the field. Some students launched the
potatoes while other students were in charge of collecting data using a motion detector and
a timer. Students analyzed the data to describe the path that each potato followed

1 answer

and to determine the distance and velocity of each potato. They used the motion detector to track the position of the potato at different time intervals, and the timer to measure the time it took for the potato to reach a certain point.

By analyzing the data, students were able to create graphs and calculate the trajectory of each potato. They discovered that the path of the potato resembled a parabolic curve, with the highest point representing the peak of its trajectory. They also found that the distance traveled by each potato varied depending on the amount of force applied by the catapult.

Using the motion detector data, students could determine the velocity of the potato at different points along its path. They noticed that the velocity was highest at the moment the potato was launched, and gradually decreased as it reached its peak height before descending back to the ground.

Overall, the potato throwing contest allowed students to apply principles of physics and data analysis to understand the motion of projectiles. They learned about the relationship between distance, time, and velocity, and how different factors, such as force and angle of launch, can affect the path of a projectile.