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Physics 212, Design a super-soaker

Your goal: design a water gun that can fire a stream of water which can hit a target 40 feet away on level ground.

This project must be done by individuals.

You work for a toy company, in the "Toys For Teenagers" division. Your boss tells you that super-soaker-style water guns are popular, but your company's models are too weak. "Make me a gun which can hit a target at least 40 feet from the user on level ground," he tells you.

Your colleagues in the division can do some of the design, but you are responsible for figuring out how much pressure the water tank must produce before the user pulls the trigger and releases the water into the air. You may ignore air resistance in your calculations.

For partial credit, you may simplify the problem so that the gun is simply a water tank with a hole in it. For full credit, assume a reasonable rifle-like barrel is attached to the water tank, and account for the flow of water through the barrel.

Submit a report which contains all your work, with pictures, equations and so forth. You may also include anything you learn about ACTUAL toy water guns.


This page maintained by Michael Richmond. Last modified Dec 7, 2012.

Creative Commons License Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.