EPro8 Activity

 In Te Ngahere the years Sixes did an activity called EPro8. EPro8 is activities related to measurement. We also did this to see how well we work together, and this week we were making catapults. We were learning about two different kinds of energy. They were called potential energy and kinetic energy, Kinetic energy is when it is moving and potential energy is when It is stored. We had to make our catapults using 30 bamboo sticks, a roll of tape, a roll of string, 30 rubber bands, 2 A4 pieces of paper and a piece of A3 paper. We also used a ping pong ball to fire and we used a measuring tape to measure where it landed. The ball had to go  at least 3 meters before hitting the ground. We had a group of four and we started thinking of a way so that is was stable and it was able to launch. We got up to building the base and we used rubber bands to hold it together. Then two of us was working on the base while the other two was working on the launching part. It was very hard because we couldn’t find a way to make a launching mechanism. What was also hard was that we just couldn’t work together and I was getting stressed out. We then took apart the catapult and then restarted. We managed to finish our catapult and we tested it. We were 100mm away from 3 meters and so we added more rubber bands on the top so it would get more power from the potential energy. We then tested it and as we were done the timer ran out. It was a very challenging activity. Next time I will try work as a team.

Have you ever made a catapult before?