Weber Liu 10.

3 Science

Acceleration of a 50g weight affected by gravity

Aim
To analyse a ticker tape and calculate acceleration.

Relevant theory
(Change in velocity)/ (Change in time) = Acceleration. Gravity = 9.8ms-2 Australia A.C is 50 Hz (Changes direction 50 times per second). It will make 50 dots a second, so every 5 dots is equivalent to 0.1 seconds

Abstract
The main objective of this experiment was to find the speed of the downwards acceleration on a 50g weight caused by Earths gravitational pull. The weight pulled a piece of paper, which had been threaded in between a ticker timer, connected to an A/C power supply with a frequency of 50Hz (5 ticks per 0.1 seconds). The speed of acceleration increased at a near-constant rate of approximately 38ms-2. This results of our experiment showed that we did not reach the speed of acceleration of gravity (9.8ms-2), which could have been due to factors such as friction.

Introduction
This experiment of finding the acceleration of a 50g weight being dropped may be used to test the accuracy of the theory that gravitys acceleration is 9.8ms-2. As the mass is affected by gravity, this force is used to pull the tape through the ticker timer, which is used to record the speed and acceleration of the mass. It is hypothesised that the acceleration of the mass will be will be equal to, or less than the acceleration that of gravity, as friction plays a main role in the setup of this experiment.

Risk Assessment Risk

Dropping weight on foot Receiving an electric shock

Chance of risk occurring

Medium Medium

How to counter risk

Wear leather shoes; Stay out of the way of the weight Wear insulated gloves; Do not touch uninsulated areas of wires; Keep power off until experiment has been set up and checked. Have first aid kit ready.

Paper cut from ticker tape

Low

Weber Liu 10.3 Science

Material/Equipment
Tape Ticker timer Power Supply (A/C) String Bench Pulley 50g Weight Sticky tape

Method
Method for setting up experiment
Set up equipment as shown in diagram Thread tape through timer Test timer Attach string to ticker timer Thread string through bench pulley Attach weight to string Turn ticker timer on and allow weight to fall Analyse tape

Method for analysing tape

Rule a line every 5 dots, starting from the starting location of the ticker timer Measure the distance between every line ruled, and tabulate data (Time, Distance, Velocity) Graph Velocity and time Find the line of best fit Find the gradient of the line of best fit (Acceleration)

Diagram

Weber Liu 10.3 Science

Weber Liu 10.3 Science

Time (s)
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6

Distance (m)
0 0.034 0.095 0.133 0.153 0.187 0.187

Velocity (ms-1)
0 0.34 0.95 1.13 1.53 1.87 1.87

Gradient = (Y1 Y2) / (X1 X2) = (1.13 0.75) / (0.3 0.2) = 0.38/0.1 = 3.8 Acceleration = 3.8ms-2

Discussion/Evaluation
Through the results obtained from the experiment, the acceleration of a 50g mass dropping was found to be significantly lower than the acceleration of gravity. The results showed that the mass accelerated at a constant 3.8ms-2, whilst gravity accelerates at 9.8ms-2. These results support the hypothesis, and showed that a 50g mass does in fact accelerate slower than gravity, yet this does not mean it defies gravity. This expected result is due to friction, a force which slows down speed or acceleration. Friction within the experiment, found in the bearing of the pulley, the string through the pulley, and the ticker tape within the ticker timer is the main reason behind the loss of acceleration. The validity of this experiment is poor as there are outlying points within the graph, and the line of best fit does not go through every point and this experiment was not very accurate as it was only taken once, so a constant recurring result could not be found. For a better, more accurate and valid result, this experiment should be taken multiple times, and all the scores should be complied together and averaged. The outlying scores should be excluded as they are evidence of a faulty experiment. Through repeating a test multiple times, the scores should eventually become more accurate, and more valid.

Conclusion
We found that the acceleration of a 50g mass was 6ms-2 less than the acceleration of gravity, and 3.8ms-2. These results show that when dropping anything, so long as there is friction, the acceleration of that item will not be equal to the acceleration of gravity.