Acceleration of 'g'

This lab is difficult to display on the web page.  It is much more of a show and do lab.  This may give some preview for the lab but being there and doing it will be much easier.

step 1:  Students will be shown the tick-timer apparatus.  It is designed to make marks on the tape 60 times per second.  To help average out the motion we will be using two-tick intervals (or 1/30 of a second time intervals = 0.0333 seconds).

step 2:  Students will individually run a test strip through one of the machines.  Fellow students will help.  When everyone has a data strip of their own we will return to our desk to work out the results.

step 3:  Make a data table like this one:

step 4:  Determine where the data dots are closer together.  This will be the starting point.  Measure from the first dot to the third dot.  This measurement will go in the first blank in the delta d column.  Then measure from the third dot to the fifth dot, record, and continue.  We would like to get as many data points as possible.

step 5.  Divide each of your delta d values by the delta t (0.0333 s) and record in the average velocity column.  Then subtract to find the appropriate delta v column numbers.  Remember that you will not have values in the first box.  Then to find your acceleration, divide each delta v value by the delta t value (0.0333 s).  

step 6. Average your acceleration column values.  Compare this to the known value of 'g' by doing a percentage error calculation.  (known value:  980 cm/s²)

step 7.  Plot d vs t and v vs t graphs.  Correctly draw the appropriate curves/lines through the points.  Determine the equation of the line from the v vs t graph.

Page Last Updated: Friday March 02, 2007           Webmaster: Larry Jones                 Pickens County School District