Investigation 2.5: Acceleration Due to Gravity of Different Masses Essay Example

Investigation 2.5: Acceleration Due to Gravity of Different Masses
SPH 4CI-01
Al Einstein, James Maxwell, Isaac Newton, James Watt
Mrs. Joldwcks
Due Date: July 19, 2008 Cut-Off Date: July 21, 2008

Purpose: To determine if the mass of a falling object affects its acceleration rate. Hypothesis: The greater the mass of an object, the greater its rate of acceleration because more massive objects have more gravitational force exerted on them by the Earth.

Materials: - 3 spheres of different mass - spark timer - spark timer tape - measuring tape - recycle bin

Safety: Ensure that the masses fall directly into the recycle bin to avoid them landing on toes and/or injuring team members.

Procedure: Refer to Nelson Physics 11, pp. 561-562. Notes: 3 spheres were used instead of 3 hooked masses. A recycle bin was used instead of a safety net.

Observations & Analysis:

Table 1: Experimental Accelerations Due to Gravity for Different Masses
Sphere Mass
(kg) Trial # Number of Time Intervals Total Time
(s) Displacement
(m [D]) Acceleration
(m/s/s [D]) Average Acceleration
(m/s/s [D])
0.37 1 25 0.417 0.860 9.91 9.9 2 24 0.400 0.792 9.90 3 26 0.433 0.923 9.83
0.55 4 25 0.417 0.855 9.85 9.9 5 26 0.433 0.925 9.87 6 25 0.417 0.860 9.91
0.89 7 25 0.417 0.858 9.88 9.9 8 26 0.433 0.926 9.86 9 26 0.433 0.924 9.84

Sample Calculations:

Given:
V1 = 0
∆d = 0.860 m [D]
∆t = 0.417 s a = ?
∆d = V1 (∆t) + ½ a (∆t)2 a = 2(∆d) / (∆t)2 = 2(0.860 m [D]) / (0.417 s)2 = 9.91 m/s/s [D]

Given: a1 = 9.91 m/s/s [D] a2 = 9.90 m/s/s [D] a3 = 9.83 m/s/s [D] aaverage = ? aaverage = (a1 + a2 + a3 ) / 3 = (9.91 m/s/s [D] + 9.90 m/s/s [D] + 9.83 m/s/s [D]) / 3 = 9.88 m/s/s [D] = 9.9 m/s/s [D]

Sources of Error:

The results of this laboratory investigation may have been misleading due to:

• the spark timer skipping a mark causing a need to estimate the displacement for