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Miami
Valley Career Technology Center
MVCTC
students compete in Trebuchet Competition
Clayton,
Ohio – Miami Valley Career Technology Center (MVCTC) students in Eric
Houston’s
Applied Physics classes held a trebuchet battle on December 13, 2012.
Teams
from four classes came together in the morning and competed against
each other
in a round-robin tournament. Each
team
competed three times, with students engaged and excited about math and
science
for over two hours. The
winning team
consisting of Kat Cook (Power Technology junior from Milton-Union),
David
Terrell (Power Technology junior from Preble Shawnee), Brett Huber
(Heavy
Equipment Operator junior from Miamisburg),
Logan Boone (Construction Carpentry
junior from Tri-County North), Clark
Campbell (Auto Technology junior from
Miamisburg), Joseph Fullmer (Auto Technology junior from National
Trail), and Tyler
Gunckle (Auto Technology junior
from Franklin Monroe) went undefeated and earned a class pizza party.
A
trebuchet is like a catapult that uses a heavy weight to power its
throw,
rather than a spring or other type of elastic energy.
Students were given a few restrictions
(length of arm, height of axle, and amount of counterweight), but there
was a
lot of flexibility in the design process.
After a lot of hard work researching,
designing, and constructing the
trebuchets, students tested their ability to throw small rubber squash
balls,
and made modifications and improvements through experimentation. Eventually, each class
selected their four
best trebuchets for competition.
The
competition took the form of a battlefield, with teams firing squash
balls at
each other in a live medieval-style fight.
If one’s target was hit, he or she is
out. After twenty
minutes, the team with the most
trebuchets still standing (out of the four they started with) is
declared the
winner. Or, if a
trebuchet is able to
hit the opposing team’s “castle” – a target at the far end of the
battlefield –
they automatically win!
For
more information about MVCTC, please visit www.mvctc.com.
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