Catapult: Rotating Throwing Arm to Reduce Air Resistance?

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    Catapult Project
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Rotating the throwing arm of a catapult to its side may reduce air resistance due to a smaller surface area, though air resistance is not a significant factor for a standard golf ball projectile. Optimizing the speed of the arm is beneficial, but issues arise with spring tightness causing mechanical failures. The primary goal of the project is to achieve distance for a higher mark, while ensuring the device remains intact to avoid losing points. Projectile analysis indicates a distance of 40m, an angle of 45 degrees, and a velocity of 19.8m/s, prompting questions about calculating centripetal acceleration. Additional calculations may include analyzing the effects of the arm's radius and pull-back angle on overall performance.
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Would rotating the throwing arm (2cm by 4cm) to its side reduce air resistance due to the smaller surface area? (Imagine a palm vs karate chop scenario).
 
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Yes - is air resistance a significant factor in your design?
 
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Simon Bridge said:
Yes - is air resistance a significant factor in your design?
Not really for the projectile since it's a standard golf ball but whatever optimizes the speed of the arm is a bonus. However the tighter my springs are the more often they pop off the circle screws and the tightness also dent my pivot arm (thin metal pole).
 
May I ask what you're goal for this project is? Are you going for distance? For consistency? Something else?
 
Drakkith said:
May I ask what you're goal for this project is? Are you going for distance? For consistency? Something else?
Distance gets me a higher mark but if it breaks I won't get a mark at all lol.
 
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Drakkith said:
May I ask what you're goal for this project is? Are you going for distance? For consistency? Something else?
Projectile Analysis:
Distance = 40m
Angle = 45 degrees
Velocity = 19.8m/s
Can I use the projectile velocity to calculate centripetal acceleration?

Other Given:
Radius/length of arm: 40cm
Pull back angle: 60 degrees
Spring length: 15cm
Mass of ball is 46g
Time(ball): 2s
What else can I calculate with this?
 

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