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Engineers in Training 2008
Shodor > SUCCEED > Workshops > Archive > Engineers in Training 2008

John Burton taught this class session dealing with simple projectile motion. The intent of the class was to predict the exact landing location of a projectile based on its starting height and angle of launch from a ramp. John instructed the students to divide into teams for this illustration. He taught the students about the simple laws of motion and ramps. The student teams were allowed to build a ramp with provided materials and to measure and record the initial ramp height above its supporting table, the table height from the floor, the exit height of the projectile from the ramp, and the exit distance from the bottom of the ramp to its exit point. Each team was given a marble to use to make several trial runs and record where the marble actually landed on the floor. Based The students were allowed to make and record adjustments to their ramps. Based on the analysis of these trials, each team was expected to land a marble into a cup placed on a floor location. The students learned that the effect of friction, a real world occurrence, introduced errors into their calculations. A question and answer forum followed.