During the catapult launch Newton's three laws occur. Newton's first law applies as the arm of the catapult swings and launches the balloon. As the arm continues to move back it is stopped by the retaining bar. This explains how an object in motion will stay in motion until an outside force acts upon it. The smaller the mass of the balloon, the more force will be needed to accelerate the balloon. This relates to Newton's second law which states that the acceleration of an object is proportional to the force acting on the object, and is inversely proportional to the mass of the object. As the balloon sits in the arm of the catapult it exerts a force. Then the arm launches the balloon, exerting a force on the balloon. This process uses Newton's third law which states whenever an object exerts a force on another object, the second object exerts an equal/opposite force on the first object.
To increase the Range:
Some modifications that would increase the range would be to add a more heavier weight which would cause the arm to exert more force on the balloon. Also the length of the arm can affect the range. If we were to increase to length of the arm, then the balloon would launch farther and higher. The higher the balloon goes, the longer it will take for gravity to pull it down.
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