"Ballistic Car"

Ballistic Car!

Introduction

The Ballistic Car demonstrates that the horizontal motion of a specific object is completely unaffected by the force that acts in the vertical direction. This project consists of a car with a mounted "cannon" that propels a metal ball into the air using a compressed spring. After you push the "Ballistic Car" away from you, the ball would launch into the air, ending back into the tube where it began.

Materials

• Ballistic Car itself.

• Metal Ball.

• String.

• Pin.

• Level Surface.

Procedure

• Place the Ballistic Car on a level surface.

• Using a pen or some sort of elongated object, place the metal ball into the barrel and place the pin as soon as the ball touches the bottom.

• When the pin is in place, grab the string, slowly push the Ballistic Car, and pull the string.

• The ball should, if done correctly, land back into the barrel!

Scientific Principles

• Projectile Motion

• Newton's laws of motion

• Acceleration due to gravity

• Incependence of horizontal and vertical components of motion

Investigation