Acceleration by Gravity

SPH 3UI

Unit 1

Jordan, Aidan, and Catherine.

Background Information: This experiment ‘s purpose is to challenge

the known and accepted rate of acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s2)
with an independent study.

Definitions: Acceleration- The rate of change of velocity of an object.

Gravity- The fundamental force which operates between

masses; the gravitational force had an infinite range.

Displacement- The change in position of an object; the

difference of the final and initial positions.

Velocity- The rate of change of position of an object; a

vector quantity.

Question: Is the official measure of acceleration due to gravity (9.8

m/s2) correct? And if not, what is it?

Hypothesis/Prediction: It is predicted that the acceleration of the

weight as it is pulled down by gravity will be at a constant rate of 9.8
m/s2 and that the line of best fit on the velocity-time graph will reflect
this.

Design: In this experiment, tickertape was used to measure

acceleration due to gravity. It was tied to a tape and dropped, as it ran
through a machine that left 60 dots per second on the tape. The
displacement between the dots helped find the acceleration. The
dependant variable is the number of dots and their distance, while the
independent variable is time.

Materials:

Materials Units
Carbon-dotting machine N/A
Tickertape cm (134.5)
Tape N/A
Weight g (20)
Carbon paper N/A
Stand N/A
Clamp N/A
Procedure: 1. Required materials were collected.

2. Stand was placed on edge of a table. A clamp was

attached to the stand and the carbon-dotting machine so
the slots for the tape were facing the ground.

3. The ticker tape was placed through the slots and

dangled to the ground. At the end of the tape, the weight
was taped firmly.

4. The tape was pulled all the way back so that there was
only a small amount in front of the carbon-dotter. The
machine was turned on and the weight dropped.
5. The tape fell to the floor. The machine turns off and the
observations were recorded.

Observations:

Time (s) Time Displacemen Distance Average

Interval (s) t (cm [F]) (cm) Velocity
(cm/s [F])
0 0 0 0 0
1/12 1/12 2.3 2.3 27.6
2/12 1/12 7.4 9.7 88.8
3/12 1/12 13.3 23 159.6
4/12 1/12 19.9 42.9 238.8
5/12 1/12 25.4 68.3 304.8
6/12 1/12 31.5 99.8 378
7/12 1/12 34.7 134.5 416.4

This experiment encountered a total time of 7/12s of a second. In this

time, a weight fell to the ground at a constantly increasing velocity.
This gives it a constant acceleration. The graph shown on the next
page is a graph of the velocity in each period of time; giving a constant
line of best fit, indicating that the acceleration was constant. The slope
of the line is _________: the rate of acceleration.