JOURNALS

When contemplating how to construct the cannon the first day we began, was based off of research that we could find, and using information gathered in class with general knowledge. Our first hypothesis was that if we had a smaller cannon then it would go further with the pressure build up. After thinking more into details about how the volume and pressure would coincide with the shooting, we decided to re-do the cannon and make a longer cannon. In the development of the tennis ball cannon, the size plays a major role in the pressure caused a build up of the ethanol and created the cannon to shoot the ball at a larger velocity. Our second hypothesis was that the pressure will build up and, the pressure chamber inside of the tennis tube will push up and create a force going through the whole created inside of the tennis tube to cause a greater force and make the ball fly out increasing the pressure and fly about seven feet. With that conclusion, we felt that we had a succesful cannon, and that our brainstorming would leave us impressed with our work.



In the development of the tennis ball cannon, the size plays a major role in the pressure caused a build up of the ethanol and created the cannon to shoot the ball at a larger velocity. To make a cannon work you need to have a great amount of pressure in you gas chamber.If you cannon is too large or too small the pressure will not build up and your ball will not shoot which makes your project unsuccessful. When making a cannon make sure you factor in everything that can affect your pressure. The easiest way to construct your cannon is with two tubes and tape. Our cannon was constructed of our cannon was a major part of that. Our cannon shot 15 feet and did not melt or change the physical being of it. It had a very distinct smell and was a little wt. This mean that our experiment was an exothermic reaction and it released heat from the outside causing a great force and the outcome going farther then we could imagine. When first starting this experiment we never even thought that the ball was going to move. We were so surprised and excited that something we made actually worked. The cannon demonstration was a fun experiment and taught us how to connect Science and English with a building project and making the connection between pressure, temperature, and volume. It also showed us how to connect the gas laws together through a visual project and not book work. To our amazement this project shows that all subjects can be covered with a hands on project and we can actually learn with this project.

The combined gas law describes the relationship among the pressure, temperature, and volume of an enclosed gas. The combined gas law allows you to do calculations for situations in which only the amount of gas is constant. The equation is :
P1 V1 = P2 V2
T1 ____ T2
Also we know that a combustion reaction took place because we actually saw the fire and saw the smoke.

Nicole Kilbourne

PICTURES

RESEARCH

Cannons have been used since the early 1300's for attacks against the people. The cannon is used to defend territories and hurt people that are causing inflection on their country. There are thousands of different types of cannons that all have the same purpose. The cannon serves the purpose of hurting people and making people fear to come near their opponents territories. Cannons are used in many war situations and have been since the beginning of time. Cannons have been made out of many things such as metal, PVC pipes and tennis ball capsules. Over the time different types of cannons have developed and were not just used for war, they became a method of fun. People started to shoot potato's out of them and tennis balls to test how far they would go and they became like a form of shooting gun, to practice your aim. Cannons are now even being used in children toys, such as, transformers toys and disk release toys. The cannon has been changed from a harmful weapon to an enjoyable toy. For any cannon you need to make sure you have enough pressure built up for your cannon to shoot the object as far as possible. The volume of a cannon is also very important because it plays a major part with the pressure. The smaller your cannon, the greater the pressure build up becomes and the farther your object will travel.
Turnbull, Stephen . History of the cannons. January 30th, 2008, from The Walls of Constantinople AD 324–1453 (Fortress 25). Osprey Publishing, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_cannon.

Our Hypothesis is that the pressure will build up and, the pressure chamber inside of the tennis tube will push up and create a force going through the whole created inside of the tennis tube to cause a greater force and make the ball fly out at at increasing pressure and fly about seven feet.

Construction of Cannon

Before Drawling when we did not relize Temperature and volume.

Corrected Drawling after we factored in Temperature and volume.

Procedure of constructing:
1. obtain materials (2 tennis ball cans, 12 inch strip of tape, and 1 pair of scissors)
2. create a visual picture of the canon
3. take pictures of construct
4. began cutting the cans
5. create a graphic oragnizer
6. create the final cannon
7. fire the cannon off and record firing
8. present an oral presentation and speech

Thesis

In the development of the tennis ball cannon, the size plays a major role in the pressure and temperature of the cannon. However if not constructed correctly they can damage the development of the tennis ball cannon. In this case, temperature and pressure caused a build up of the ethanol and created the cannon to shoot the ball at a larger velocity.

Experiment

Our Nerf ball shot 15ft and had an exothermic reaction which means that it released heat which created a great force which pushed the ball to travel about 15ft. The piece that we inserted inside of the cannon to create a build up of pressure popped out and cracked in half. Also the top of the cannon melted down a little and it had a strong, distinct smell.