My Mousetrap Catapult

I have very little experience in building catapults, so my first model was a bit shaky. However, I was able to finally construct a half decent catapult after numerous trials and errors. My first model was simply a spoon duct taped to the mousetrap, and set off with the pull of a string. I had no intention of this being my final model, I just wanted to see where the areas I needed to improve were. After the first shot I immediately noticed that without a heavy base, the force generated by the mousetrap was to great and it caused the catapult to flip. I then sawed a small rectangle of wood and glued it to the mousetrap in order to increase the stability, make it easier to hold, and also lift the catapult higher in order prevent the spoon from hitting the ground. After the second test shot, I noticed the catapult shot the ping pong ball very low to the ground and its initial contact with the ground was only a few feet away, and in addition to that, the spoon nicked the ground and nearly broke in half, so I knew I had to add a stopper that would prevent the spoon from hitting the ground and allow the ball to come off the catapult arched, which would maximize its distance. After the third try, the stopper definitely seemed to pay off and the ball traveled much faster. I was still unhappy with my catapult and tried thinking of a different way I could improve it. After several minutes of wondering, I thought maybe if I increased the length of the spoon, the ball would travel farther. So after removing the old spoon and taping a knife to it in order to make it larger, I tested it out and just like I predicted, it made the ball go even farther. This was surely the final product, but I continued to test it throughout the week, trying to see what I could improve. This morning before heading to school I decided to test it out just to assure myself it was the best catapult I could make, and just my luck, the spoon hits the table and shatters. I quickly re-taped a new knife and spoon, and tried to figure out where I went wrong. I noticed that because I increased the length of the spoon, I also had to increase the height of the stopper. After making the subtle change to my catapult I tested it out one last time, and thankfully my catapult at least stayed intact before I had to make my way onto the bus.