Potential Energy In Marbles

Introduction

The guiding question for this lab was what is the best height that will give the marble the potential energy to hit the target cup. Energy is the ability to do work. Potential energy is the energy of position and kinetic energy is the energy of motion. In order for the ramp to be successful, the ramp had to have the right amount of potential and kinetic energy. If you have too much potential energy than the marble would have too much kinetic energy and the marble would not land inside of the target cup, it will go right over the top of it. If you have too little potential energy then the marble will not have enough kinetic energy and the marble will not land inside of the target cup, it will hit the front of the cup The hypothesis for this investigation was that 200 centimeters would be the best height for the ramp to succeed and for the marble to land directly inside of the target cup. 200 centimeters is the best height for the marble to have enough potential energy to land inside of the target
The first step to conduct this experiment is to set up your ramp, whether it is a pool noodle or flexible pipe insulation. Adjust the ramp to the correct height you chose for this investigation. Next, place the 4 textbooks exactly 84 centimeters from the wall. Then place the cup exactly 40 centimeters from the 4 textbooks. Now it is time to start the actual experiment. Take your marble and place it at the top of the ramp. Let the marble roll to to end of the ramp and record whether or not the marble landed inside of the cup. Repeat these steps adjusting the height of the ramp as you go depending on where the marble lands. The data was used to determine what height was the best for the marble to land inside of the target cup. The data was analyzed by comparing the different heights to the number of times the marble landed in the target