MouseTrap Catapult ... Made in the USA

Today, after wrapping up some graphing of data from our PhET simulation lab, we started our mousetrap catapult lab.  These catapults must be designed with a triggering device and shoot a marshmallow a distance of 12 feet into a bucket.  Students will get ten shots ... classroom record is eight marshmallows in the bucket.

Students had a choice of three types of mousetraps.  Mouse Guard and Tomcat traps both made in China and Victor traps made in the USA.  I bought all the traps and gave out the Made in China traps for free but students had to pay 50 cents for a Victor trap.  After a pep rally talk from their teacher, most chose to shell out the 50 cents for the Made in USA trap ... which by all opinions was better built.

Students experimented today with different designs.

Tomorrow is AP Biology day ... evolution, natural selection and the Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium.