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Kaede Titus

Mrs. Stevens

Physical Science

12 December 2018

How Does the Distance From a Ballistic Gelatin Target Affect How Far an Arrow Goes In at 4.5,

9.14, And 14 Meters?

Did you know that the fastest an arrow shot from a compound bow can go is 200 mph?

That is, with a bow with a 70 pound draw weight. I only have a bow with a draw weight of 16

pounds. The arrow still goes fast though. When I was filming my experiment, my aim was a little

off so when I released the string, the arrow went a little too far right, and fast enough, that it

snapped my gelatin stand in half! I thought that if I shoot an arrow at a target from 4.5, 9.14, and

14 meters, then the arrow will go farther into the target at 14 yards.

How Do Bows Store Potential Energy And What Is Potential Energy?

Potential energy in a bow happens when you pull back the string on the bow. The energy

from your arm creates tension and is stored in the bow until you hit the release trigger. When you

release the string, all the stored potential energy springs out with the arrow. The energy is moved

into the arrow, making it go fast. The harder the string is to pull back, the more potential energy

is stored in the bow. The more potential energy stored in the bow, the faster the arrow will go

(Smith).

How Will the Draw Weight of a Bow Affect How Much the Arrow Will Penetrate the Target?

The draw weight of a bow is the amount of force pushing the arrow when it leaves the

bow. The heavier the draw weight, or the harder the string is to pull back, the more force the

arrow has. The more force the arrow has, the faster and farther it will go (Smith). Even if you
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have a heavy draw weight, the lighter arrow will still slow down faster than the heavier one. The

heavier arrow will have more momentum and will be harder to stop while in the air. The arrow

won’t go as fast and the trajectory won’t be as flat, but the heavier arrow will penetrate deeper

(Badgley).

How Does the Weight of an Arrow Affect How Far It Goes? Why?

A lighter arrow goes faster than a heavier arrow, so it has more force pushing against it as

it flies. Therefore, it will not go as far. A heavier arrow, however, has more kinetic energy so it

will go slower. Also, a heavier arrow will drop faster than a lighter arrow (Heavy). All arrows fly

in an arch shape. The farther the arrow goes, the more the arrow, of either weight, will drop

towards the end (Understanding).

How Does the Weight of an Arrow Affect How Deep It Will Penetrate an Object?

The more mass an arrow has, the harder it will be to slow it down. When an arrow’s

weight is increased, it has more kinetic energy and momentum (Arrow). The heavier the arrow,

the more energy it transfers into the target when it makes contact. Heavier arrows have more

force than lighter arrows (Smith). Though the heavier arrows are slower, they have more power

at impact than a lighter arrow because the heavier arrow is harder to slow down. The lighter,

faster arrows drop less than the heavier arrows (Heavy).

What Is Spin And How Will It Impact the Distance an Arrow Will Travel?

When an arrow is shot out of a bow, it starts out having no spin. The arrows spin

increases as the speed of the arrow increases. The spin on an arrow requires energy (Spinning).

An arrow flies faster when its spinning than when its not. The fletchings on an arrow help it spin.

The air catches in the fletchings, helping it spin while in flight. If an arrow had no fletchings, it

would not fly as straight and as far (Jasper).

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What Is Drag And How Will It Impact the Distance an Arrow Will Travel?

Drag is any environmental condition like wind resistance and density of the air that will

slow the arrow down. If the wind is strong when you are trying to shoot the bow, the arrow

won’t fly straight. The wind will blow the arrow off course. The density of the air also affects the

drag on the arrow. Near sea level, the air is denser so the arrow will have to fly through more air.

Up higher, the air is thinner so the arrow won’t fly through as much air (Smith). The faster

arrows have more force pushing against them than slower arrows. Since there is nothing

propelling the arrow after it leaves the bow, the drag is sure to slow it down (Heavy).

I thought that if I shoot an arrow at a target from 4.5, 9.14, and 14 meters, then the arrow

will go farther into the target at 14 meters, and I found out that the arrow went farther into the

target at 4.5 meters. I thought that if an arrow was shot from further back, then it would have

more momentum to get it going faster. I learned that the arrow actually goes farther into the

target at 4.5 meters because it doesn't have as much drag acting on it to slow it down. Also it

doesn't have to pass through as much air or go against as much wind because its traveling a

shorter distance. The average amount of centimeters that the arrow went into the target at 4.5

meters from 4 trials was 1.0175 cm.

Works Cited
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“ Arrow Kinetic Energy and Momentum: What They Mean to the Archer.” Archery Report,

Archery Report, 2015, archeryreport.com/2009/11/arrow-kinetic-energy-momentum-

archer/.

Badgley, Bill. “Momentum Beats Speed for Lethal Arrow Hits | QDMA.” Quality Deer

Management Association, 15 July 2016, www.qdma.com/momentum-beats-speed-lethal-

arrow-hits/.

“Heavy vs. Light Arrows: Downrange Speed and Power.” Archery Report, Archery Report,

2015, archeryreport.com/2011/01/heavy-vs-light-arrows-speed-power/.

Jasper, Allison. “Real or Not Real: Arrow Flight.” Archery 360, Archery 360, 26 July 2017,

www.archery360.com/2015/01/10/real-or-not-real-arrow-flight/.

Smith, Chris. “Science Fair Interview Notes.” 18 Nov. 2018.

“Spinning Arrows.” Arrow Flight - Fletched Arrows, 1 July 2009,

www.tap46home.plus.com/mechanics/fspin.htm.

“Understanding How Arrows Drop.” Archery Report, Archery Report, 2015,

archeryreport.com/2011/06/understanding-arrows-drop/.