Algebra Takes Flight in the Gym
Math moved at high velocity on Tuesday as Algebra 2 and Trigonometry students took over the upper school gym to launch catapults as part of a lesson on projectile motion.
Math teacher Scott Harrison designed the activity to deepen students’ understanding of quadratic functions, using 3D-printed catapults from King’s Innovation Lab to collect real experimental data. The idea grew out of a Cub Scout project Harrison built years ago with his sons.
“I thought it might translate well into a lesson on quadratics,” said Harrison.
Students collected time-in-the-air data as black balls arced through the gym, then used that information, along with the distance traveled, to build quadratic models of the motion. The lesson connected directly to their current unit on quadratics, where students have been studying parabolas, their key features, like intercepts, vertices, and axes of symmetry, and how different algebraic forms represent those features.
“I love doing interdisciplinary work with my students where math comes alive with real purpose,” said Harrison, referring to the physics concepts embedded in the lesson. “The students watched the projectile fly through the air with their own eyes, so the meaning of the vertex becomes much more tangible.”
Projectile motion, Harrison explained, is a powerful real-world application, as many problems ultimately come down to identifying and interpreting the vertex.
After analyzing their data, students derived an empirical estimate for Earth’s gravitational pull and calculated the projectile’s maximum height, which was about three meters.
“This was a good opportunity to sanity check our analysis,” Harrison said, adding that a height of about nine feet seemed about right. He encouraged students to develop a habit of stepping back and checking whether results make sense, in math class and beyond.
Students will next apply the projectile motion formula to new scenarios, from baseballs and hockey pucks to an egg dropped from the Performing Arts Center roof. The catapult experiment will also be reexamined later in the year, when students study trigonometry, allowing them to revisit their assumptions and refine their calculations using launch angles and vertical velocity.
“I strive to create threads that weave through my teaching,” said Harrison. “I want to drive home that math is the language of science. Calculus is physics. Why not take the opportunity to make math come alive?”