Question

use science to make design decisions
as you design a solution to a problem you make many decisions. it is important to use scientific practices to help make these decisions. basing your decisions on science, rather than on random guessing, will lead to a satisfactory solution more quickly because your decisions will be more likely to have the desired effect.

image of archer shooting arrow towards target

the archer correctly aims the arrow at the target. when she shoots, though, the arrow falls short.

1. the arrow did not reach the target because there was too much / little energy in the system. the archer should pull the string of the bow back more / less to increase / decrease the gravitational / elastic potential energy in the system.

evaluate and optimize a solution
how do you know when a solution is acceptable? you must test the solution and evaluate whether or not it meets your design criteria, given your constraints. some criteria may be more challenging to measure than others. for example, determining how much fun a design is or assessing usability can be difficult to measure quantitatively. you must develop a method to measure and evaluate your solution’s performance for each criterion.

imagine that you have a solution that satisfies all of your criteria and constraints. is this the best solution you can develop? maybe not. in many cases, the design or process may be modified to better meet certain criteria. as with your original design decisions, you should base your modifications on scientific principles. after making a change, the design must be retested to make sure that all of the criteria and constraints are still met. this process may be repeated until the solution has the best performance that is possible for all the criteria. this is the optimized solution.

Explanation:

1. The arrow fell short, meaning the energy in the system (bow - arrow system) was insufficient. So, there was too "little" energy.
2. To increase the energy, the archer should pull the string back "more". Pulling the string back more stretches the bow more.
3. When the bow is stretched (elastic deformation), the energy stored is elastic potential energy. Pulling the string back more will "increase" the elastic potential energy (since elastic potential energy $U=\frac{1}{2}kx^{2}$, where $x$ is the displacement from the equilibrium position, so a larger $x$ means larger $U$). And the type of potential energy here is "elastic" potential energy (not gravitational as gravitational potential energy depends on height, and the main energy storage in a bow - arrow system when pulling the string is elastic).

Answer:

little; more; increase; elastic