When Potatoes Fly!
Year 12’s mission – to measure the potato-flight path!
Watch out – there goes a flying potato!
Year 12 Physics students experimented with the concept of projectile motion by launching potatoes and tracking their motion. Each student group selected a different mission to solve and then presented their findings to their class in the following lesson. The missions were:
Mission 1
Using only a stop clock and a tape measure, take measurements from a launch to calculate:
- The angle of launch
- The muzzle velocity of the potato
- The maximum height reached
Mission 2 – Challenge!
Using only a tape measure and a protractor, take measurements from a launch to calculate:
- The time of flight
- The muzzle velocity of the potato
- The maximum height reached
Mission 3
By taking a video clip of the launch of the potato:
- Take measurements off the video clips by importing into Loggerpro 3 software to determine the muzzle velocity and angle of flight of the potato
- Calculate the maximum height reached
- Calculate the range
For Mission 2, the sub-sonic spuds travelled 75m when launched at an angle of 45 degrees. Solving Mission 2 is a real challenge – do you know which simultaneous equations are required to find the correct answers?!
Our Science teachers really value practical experiments – so when you’re next in school watch out for flying potatoes!
