In this experiment the acceleration of a falling mass will be measured using ticker tape, this is a strip of paper that is attached to the moving body and pulled through a ticker. The ticker puts 50 dots per second onto the tape. Attach a length of tape to a mass and thread it through the ‘ticker’. As the mass falls the motion is recorded on the tape.
Diagram
Data and Calculations
Interval (s)
Time taken (s)
Displacement (cm) ± 0.05
Displacement (m) ± 0.0005
Velocity ms-1
± 0.005
0.1
0.1
9.70
0.0970
0.97
0.1
0.2
18.80
0.1880
1.88
0.1
0.3
27.80
0.2780
2.78
0.1
0.4
39.20
0.3920
3.92
0.1
0.5
45.70
0.4570
4.57
Displacement at first interval = (9.70 ± 0.05)cm = (0.0970 ± 0.0005) m
Velocity for first interval = Displacement/Time taken = (0.0970 ± 0.515%) ÷ 0.1 = (0.97 ± 0.515%) ms-1 = (0.97 ± 0.005) ms-1
From the graph, the gradient of the graph is the acceleration which is 9.24 ms-2
Conclusion
The acceleration of the falling mass is 9.24 ms-2 . This is possible because the accepted value is 9.8 ms-2 . Some possible errors could occur for example : parallax error. Eye was made sure to be perpendicular to the scale of the ruler to avoid this error.
Experiment 2 : Measuring Acceleration with a Labquest and Photo Gate
In this experiment, acceleration of the trolley is to be determined with a labquest and photo gate. The ramp is inclined at an angle great enough to cause the trolley to accelerate down it. One light gate is set up at a measured distance down the track. The trolley is let to run down the track and the time it takes to pass the gate is measured. The length of the card is measured and is used to calculate the velocity of the trolley as it passed through the gate.
Diagram
Data and Calculations
Distance from gate to card (cm) ± 1.0
Distance from gate to card (m) ± 0.01
Velocity (ms-1)
V2
(m2s-2)
2s
(m) ± 0.02
30.0
0.30
0.658
0.433
0.60
40.0
0.40
0.74
0.548
0.80
50.0
0.50
0.854
0.729
1.00
60.0
0.60
0.908
0.824
1.20
70.0
0.70
0.914
0.835
1.40