Projectile Force Experiment

This experiment is designed to investigate the impact of force on a stationary object.  A potato is pared down to fit into the barrel of a “potato cannon”, weighed, and loaded into the cannon using a ramrod.  A known force (air pressure) is used to propel the potato from the cannon at a 45 degree angle.  Look carefully at the picture below, can you see the potatoes?

The distance from the firing line to impact is measured. By knowing the force, the mass of the potato, and the distance travelled, we can then calculate how much force is required to propel a potato of a known mass a specific distance.