Rane Dutcher

Egg Launching Experiment

In this project, we were required to launch an egg into the air with some sort of
apparatus to form a parabola. I decided to construct my own slingshot to get the egg into
the air. The slingshot was made with simple items like a stick, duct tape, the bottom of a
plastic cup, and elastic. I first tested it out to make sure it worked, and then I continued
with my experiment. I went outside to a flat, grassy plain and brought a ruler with me to
measure the distances. I made sure to conduct this experiment a few times to get an
accurate depiction as to where the egg was going. I first measured up myself to the
slingshot in my hand to get the starting position (it measured to four feet in height). I then
launched the egg, watching it bounce two times before it rolled away. I left the slingshot
where I was to pinpoint my launching location, and I measured to the eggs first bounce
(it measured fourteen feet in distance). I measured from the first bounce to the second
bounce (it measured 2.5 feet in distance), and then all the way to its ending position
(maximum distance = 18 feet). I started off by drawing a graph, and then I marked all the
important locations, like the slingshots position and the eggs first contact with the
ground. I recorded my experiment, so when I reviewed them I used my height as a
reference as to where the egg reached its maximum height (7.5 feet). To find my
quadratic equation, I started off with the Vertex Form formula. I took two points from my
graph and I applied them to the four variables of the equation (h, k, x, y). Once I inputted
the new numbers into the equation, I solved for a. I found out that a = -.079, so I restarted
the equation with the a value and changed 0 back to x. I then estimated the quadratic

equation. I repeated all these steps with the second parabola as well. The estimated
quadratic equation for parabola 1 is 0 = -.01x2 + x + 4, and its equation as a function is y
= -.01x2 + x + 4. The estimated quadratic equation for parabola 2 is 0 = -x2 + 15x 112,
and its equation as a function is y = -x2 +15x - 112. The xs in the equations are negative
because the parabolas are facing downwards, and the as absolute values are less than one
because they are fatter/growing slowly. The zeros in my quadratic equations represent
f(x) / y (the height) when the egg hit the ground (where the graph hits the x-axis). For
parabola 1: f(5) would equal 8.75. This means that the egg would be 8.75 feet in the air
when its distance is five feet. F(10) would equal 13. This means that the egg would be 13
feet in the air when its distance is ten feet. For parabola 2: f(5) equals -62 and f(10) also
equals -62. This path of the egg was after the first bounce, so if we counted this as its
own parabola, it would be at ground level until the time of the second bounce (14 feet in
distance). From my experimentation, I fear an error has occurred with the second
parabola because the egg bounced twice, making two parabolas instead of one. Im also
worried the parabolas maximum heights may not be exact because they werent
measured, but interpreted from a video.