SAMPLE: History

Title: A Little More To The Left!



Background: The effectiveness of "long distance" Medieval weaponry varied widely and often depended on the skill of the user. Projectile weapons at opposite ends of the spectrum are the bow and catapult. The bow was a quiet, mobile, long distance, personal weapon requiring a fine hand and eye. In contrast, the large, heavy catapult had to be close to a castle so its brute power could send boulders crashing against the walls, knocking loose large chunks of rock. Perhaps because of the number of people who used the bow, mythic personalities are more commonly associated with this weapon than with other medieval projectile weapons.



Questions:
1. William Tell is a heroic figure from early central European history. Determine if he really existed from the info at: http://geo.fateback.com/legend.htm
2. a) If his crossbow launched a bolt at 14.6 m/s 200, what downrange distance would it cover?
    b) What if the launch angle were just 50?
3. In 2. a), how far downrange would his 1 m tall son stand for the bolt to strike the apple on his head?
    Please print the 1580 German crossbow image at: http://198.144.2.125/Crossbows/crossbows.htm
4. A more recent figure, from British myth and history, is Robin Hood. Was he real? Find out at:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/4198/rh/realrob.html
5. Robin and his men separate into two groups to escape from the Sheriff's men. Later, the outlaws spy each other on opposite sides of a deep ravine. Robin carries a long length of twine and one of his band on the other side has a long length of rope. Robin stands 3 m back from the edge of the ravine, ties the cord to an arrow and fires it across the 10 m wide ravine toward the men waiting on the other side. Neglecting the drag of the cord, how fast must the arrow be launched at 350 to hit the ground 5 m beyond the other side of the ravine?
6. Explain the forces in the operation of a bow.
7. a) A catapult launches a 50 kg rock at 9.9 m/s. If the rock reaches that speed in 1.2 s, find its acceleration.

b) The catapult would have applied what force to the rock?
8. A catapult on the top of a 70 m cliff launches a rock at 10.4 m/s 350. Beyond what distance out from the cliff foot would a galley be safe from impact?
9. If a rock thuds into the ground 80 m from a catapult, how fast was it launched at 500?
10. How does a catapult work? Go to: http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/miltech/catapult.htm
Please print one of the images on this web page.