Cannons.

A cannon is defined as any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other explosive-based propellants to launch a projectile. They can be found in history as useful weapons many countries used during wars.

Cannons are generally prepared by placing gunpowder into the primer tube. The amount of powder would be adjusted depending on the distance of the target, the size of the cannon and the type of projectile being used.

A friction primer is used to ignite the gunpowder and is a hollow tube that fits into the vent hole. It has an opening that allows a serrated wire to be inserted inside. The wire has a loop on it where a piece of rope is attached and when it is time to fire, the rope on the friction primer is pulled. Then the serrated wire creates enough heat to ignite the gunpowder in the primer tube and ultimately create an explosion that would expel the projectile.

For furthur information on how a cannon works, check it out:
http://www.nps.gov/archive/fosu/2_History/how_cannon_works.pdf

Newton's Lab Results.

Through labour, Cindy, William, Richard and I managed to mangle these results out of the ticker-tape and pulley system.

Man, did we have fun measuring the distance between dots!

Our Newspaper Structure.

When given three sheets of newspaper and a desk-length of tape to work with, the quantity of materials seemed like a small one. We tested many different ways we could roll the sheets of newspaper to obtain the maximum length. We discovered that if we ripped the sheets into quarters, we could achieve a substantial amount of height for our tower which, after all, was the purpose. We decided that we would try and use a "cootie-catcher" base, where it would be inverted with a hole in the center so the  bottom of our thin, diagonally-rolled newspaper could be inserted and held upright. Turned out the newspaper was way too flimsy for the long structure for it to be the center of gravity and such a goal was unattainable. Before the real competition and measuring began, the sides of the cootie-catcher began to rip and the long 'tower' would no longer stay where we needed it to; off the floor. Our tower was not measured for, I guess we were technically disqualified when the cootie-catcher fell apart after our numerous attempts to make it sturdier. Charlie, Cindy and I arrived at the conclusion that the "hands-on" activities are not our forte. I fear for the outcome of our roller coaster.

Petronas Towers.

When asked to think about tall buildings, I thought about the Petronas Towers located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Petronas Towers were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998-2004 at 452m until Taipei 101 was completed. Petronas Towers include 88 floors, constructed largely of reinforced concrete, and a steel and glass facade designed to resemble motifs found in Islamic art as a reflection of Malaysia's Muslim religion. They will retain the title of "world's tallest twin towers" and include unique features such as the sky bridge which connect the two towers together.

For the newspaper-tower building activity, a strong base seems to be the necessity. With a strong base, the upper, longer part could have the proper support to hold it up. Somewhat like the woman's center of gravity and the standing of the egg, we would want it lower and close to the ground so that it could stand upright without much assistance. Given that the sheets of newspaper are going to be limited, this would be the best type of structure we could make, while making the most out of the sheets.

Projectile Motion Worksheet Answers.

There was only two cases from what I could tell...