Trebuchets for Pumpkin Chunkin'

My Students

I eventually want my students to build their own catapults and trebuchets large enough to move pumpkins. My goal is to eventually host a local Pumpkin Chunkin' event. As a second year teacher, my long-term goal may be years away. The first step is to build confidence using small-scale models.

I teach AP Physics to high school juniors and seniors.

My students come to class ready to do things most college student cannot do. My school holds the best and brightest students and teachers in the state. It is not the biggest school, but we are able to offer a multitude of options in all areas including Genetics, Marine Biology, Zoology, Microbiology, Botany, Bio-medical and Engineering courses as well as the usual courses in the sciences. Our teachers try their best to offer the latest and greatest education to our students. My students have taken courses that are often not offered at many small colleges. They are able to score the highest possible in their AP courses and walk away from high school with enough credits to skip all of Freshman year and half of Sophomore year in college. I want to make sure that the education that I'm providing my AP students is equal to if not better than the one they would receive at the university level.

My Project

We currently cover projectile motion using marble launchers that involve springs. This is good for beginning motion because they do not have to understand why the marble is being launched. However, I would like them to have an in-depth understanding of why things move when we begin the unit on Newton's Law. This will explain how the spring launches the marble. I do not currently have any labs that illustrate circular motion and torque the way that a trebuchet would. The trebuchet lab that we will perform will allow students to connect the ideas from projectile motion, Newton's Laws, circular motion, torque, and conservation of energy which is half of the units that are covered within the year. This will also be a stepping stone to eventually starting a Pumpkin Chunkin' team. Pumpkin Chunkin' is a yearly event held after Halloween and shown on the Science Channel during Thanksgiving. I hope to host a Pumpkin Chunkin' event locally for surrounding schools to participate.

As a short term goal, my students will use the trebuchets to connect very high level concepts.

This will help them gain an understanding of the inner workings of physics that will help them prepare for their AP exam but also for any career they may have in the area of physics such as engineering or any science. Eventually, students will be able to join the Pumpkin Chunkin' team. The team will build skills not only in physics and machine design but also in using power tools and collaboration.