Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Trebuchet Toss
Young engineers work in teams to design and build their own trebuchets according to certain criteria; they must be able to launch a mini marshmallow accurately into a pie tin. Background reading material, a planning sheet for trebuchet...
Curated OER
Secrets of Lost Empires II -- Medieval Siege
Students design a working working model of a trebuchet and demonstrate the power of a Class 1 lever. They test their models by throwing grapes the greatest distance and raising and lowering bricks.
Cornell University
Catapults
Ready, aim, fire! Launch to a new level of understanding as scholars build and test their own catapults. Learners explore lever design and how adjusting the fulcrum changes the outcome.
Curated OER
Medieval Catapults
Students design and build a working catapult or trebuchet to explore the concepts of force, motion, and distance.
Curated OER
Secrets of Lost Empires II-Pharaoh's Obelisk
Learners identify and analyze how levers work by raising a brick with a shish kebab skewer. Students present their work, explaining what did and did not work, including illustrations of the lever lift from different angles. Learners...
Curated OER
Fling It
Students investigate the best design using technology. In this science lesson, students construct a freestanding object with specific materials to be able to shoot a ping pong ball and a marshmallow. They have to adjust and...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Trebuchet Launch
Students work as engineers to design and test trebuchets (in this case LEGO MINDSTORMS robots) that can launch objects. During the testing stage, they change one variable at a time to study its effect on the outcome of their designs....
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Trebuchet Toss
A lesson through which learners design and build a small trebuchet from everyday materials. After building and testing their models, students will compete to see whose prototype produces the farthest launch.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Effect of Trebuchet Arm Length or Counterweight Mass on Project
A trebuchet is a catapult that uses a counterweight to supply the energy for throwing. They were used in the Middle Ages for attacking castle walls. In this project, you build your own model trebuchet and investigate how design changes...
PBS
Pbs: Nova: Destroy the Castle
Design your own trebuchet catapult, launch the sandstone balls, and destroy the castle. Decide on the size of your projectiles, where to place your trebuchet, and other factors critical to success.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Flying T Shirts
During this engineering design/build project, students investigate many different solutions to a problem. Their design challenge is to find a way to get school t-shirts up into the stands during home sporting events. They follow the...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Right on Target: Catapult Game
Students experience the engineering design process as they design and build accurate and precise catapults using common materials. They use their catapults to participate in a game in which they launch Ping-Pong balls to attempt to hit...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Launch Into Learning: Catapults!
Young scholars learn about catapults, including the science and math concepts behind them, as they prepare for the associated activity in which they design, build and test their own catapults. They learn about force, accuracy, precision...