Trebuchet STEM Physics

Engineering Design Process
Precision and Accuracy

Students will construct a trebuchet and maximize its efficiency. During this process students will learn about concepts such as engineering principles and conservation of energy. They will investigate what kinetic energy is and how it differs from potential energy. They will access and become familiar with motion analysis software (Tracker) and will investigate the resultant velocity of the trebuchet’s projectile to analyze the kinetic energy of the projectile.

  • Accuracy is defined as the closeness of a measured value to a standard or known value.
  • Precision is defined as the closeness of two or more measurements to each other.
  • The final goal is to tune the trebuchet so they can hit a wooden block wall (accuracy) and hit it consistently (precision).

DOWNLOAD TREBUCHET LESSON: Trebuchet Project

Trebuchet STEM Physics