Fling Machine

Ms. L's Fling Machine

There are many ways to solve a problem. Sometimes it is as simple as applying a piece of duct tape. Other times it takes months or years for a product to progress from an idea into full-scale production. Work with a partner to design and build a device to launch a cotton ball and send it as far as possible. 

Your team may receive points for the following.

• Creativity: Up to 10 points for creativity in the design and use of materials.
• Teamwork: Up to 10 points for how well your team works together.
• Performance: Using the landing point of the cotton ball that was propelled the furthest from the launch device, 2 points for each inch between the device and the point at which the cotton ball lands.

Analyze the cotton ball travel distance data that you collected, the design of your machine, and your effectiveness as a team. If you had the opportunity to optimize your design, what would you do differently? How could you improve the effectiveness of your team? Given the constraints, how do you feel teams solved the problem of building a fling machine?

Team	Distance
Juan & Catherine	68.5"
Austyn & Craig	37"
Ben & Jake	-14.25"
Diana & Archit	110.25"
Ganesh & Vijay	35"
Ashab & Matt	180" / -19"
Gagan & Alvin	238"
Sukjit & Amijot	0"
Sasha & William	12.25"
Katie & Sonia	-.75"
Meera & Sachi	150"
Pallavi & Austin	56.5"
Ryan & Paras	372.25"