A grade 12 physics build: design a trebuchet to launch a tennis ball as far and as accurately as possible. We skipped heavy up-front calculation and went straight to building, choosing a whipper trebuchet because it converts counterweight energy into projectile speed remarkably well.
I didn't capture progress photos and the final launch videos are low quality — but turn the audio up and you can hear the whip crack of the arm, which gives a sense of how much energy the design released.
Tuning centered on the release-point setting, which controls the launch angle. We bracketed both extremes to learn the trajectory response, then dialed in toward a ~45° launch.
The final videos are rough, but they document the result: we shattered the school distance record, and at the in-class demo won the accuracy award with a direct hit that knocked down pins 10 ft away.
Shattered the class distance record and won the accuracy award with a direct-hit pin knock-down.