ANALYSIS

There are lots of topic to be discussed in Physics. There are always new
discoveries all the time. The world, and everything in it, moves. Even
seemingly stationary things, such as a roadway, move with Earth’s rotation,
Earth’s orbit around the Sun, the Sun’s orbit around the center of the Milky
Way galaxy, and that galaxy’s migration relative to other galaxies. Dynamics
is the study of the relationships between motion and forces.

One of its branches is Kinematics, which is the lesson for this

experiment, is a branch of mechanics that consists of the study of motion
without considering the forces that cause or develop the motion. Kinematics
can be described in terms of space and time. Kinematics begins with a
description of the geometry of the system and the initial conditions of known
values of the position, velocity and or acceleration of various points that are a
part of the system, then from geometrical arguments it can determine the
position, the velocity and the acceleration of any part of the system.

Motion is a change in position of an object over time. Motion is

described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, time and
speed. Motion of a body is observed by attaching a frame of reference to an
observer and measuring the change in position of the body relative to that
frame.

Newton has described objects in motion in balanced and unbalanced

state. There is equilibrium to the object with balanced forces that are acting on
it. He said that the object will never accelerate if there will be no net force
acting on it. Thus, the velocity is constant and its acceleration is always zero.
In the Second Law of Motion, he showed that an object will have acceleration
due to unbalanced forces acting on it. There are two forces considered, net
force and the mass of the object or the gravitational pull. Gravity is an existing
force wherever the object is on. It is the pull of Earth in every object it is near
with or within the atmosphere. Thus, there is always force acting on an object.

In this experiment, the motion of the object moves along a straight line
and it is called one-dimensional motion. The line used for this motion is often
the familiar x-axis, or x number line. The object may move forward or
backward along this line. Forward is usually considered positive movement,
and this movement is usually considered to be to the right. On the other hand,
backward is usually considered negative movement to the left. It can be
described in terms of space and time. The moving object in kinematics is
represented as particle. The objective of this experiment is to study motion by
determining the velocity and acceleration and to determine experimentally the
acceleration due to gravity. The instruction is to not misuse the components of
the set-up, like the car being used as a roller skate, and to be sure that 220V-
AC source is used to power the smart timer.

To compute for the instantaneous velocity of the particle, rate of change

of position is needed and it is what we call displacement. Instantaneous
velocity of a particle is equal to the instantaneous rate of change of position
with time. Let the initial position and time of the particle have a subscript of 0.

∆𝑥 𝑑𝑥 𝑥2 −𝑥1
𝑣𝑥 = lim = = (1)
∆𝑡→0 ∆𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑡2 −𝑡1

As for the instantaneous acceleration of the particle, it is equal to rate of

change of velocity with time. When the velocity of the particle changes at the
same rate, the motion is said to be uniformly accelerated with acceleration.
 ∆𝑣𝑥 𝑑𝑣𝑥 𝑣2 −𝑣1
𝑎𝑥 = lim = = (2)
∆𝑡→0 ∆𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑡2 −𝑡1

By integrating equations, new equations can be formed. The three

equations formed are called constant acceleration equations. These are
velocity as a function of time (3), position as a function of time (4) and
velocity as a function of position (5).

𝑣 = 𝑣0 + 𝑎𝑡 (3)
1
𝑥 = 𝑥0 + 𝑣0 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2 (4)
2

𝑣 2 = 𝑣0 2 + 2𝑎(𝑥 − 𝑥0 ) (5)

When an object at rest is on an inclined plane, it will move parallel to

the surface with acceleration as shown in Figure 1. Whenever a force is
directed to an angle to the horizontal, the force will have vertical and horizontal
components [3]. Thus, it will give the object the start of motion. The levelled
track is assumed frictionless to make the velocity of the object uniform. Thus,
it also gives a uniform acceleration as shown in the figure below.

𝑎 = 𝑔 + 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
where:
a = acceleration
g = 9.8 𝑚⁄ 2 = 980 𝑐𝑚⁄ 2
𝑠 𝑠
g
ϴ = inclination
when ϴ = 90° or a free-fall:
a=g
 Shown are the materials used in this experiment. We used a dynamic cart, a
dynamics track with angle indicator and end stop, two photo gates, a smart timer,
two photo gate mounting brackets, a picket fence, a meter stick and a stand. Dynamic
carts in physics provide sample tools to experiment with and demonstrate the laws
of dynamics. The photo gate together with the smart timer is used to determine the
average velocity of a passing object, especially the dynamic cart, between two photo
gates. The picket fence is the object being detected by the photo gates.
 The first part of the experiment is all about the
“Determination of the Average Velocity of a Dynamics
Cart”. First, the materials were set up as shown. After
finishing the set-up, we placed the first and second photo-
gate in their respective places based on what is given in
the laboratory manual. After that, we inputted the right
mode of the smart timer to measure time with two gates.

To begin the trial, one member of our group cocked

the spring plunger of the cart and then launched it by
pressing the trigger. The average velocity was recorded
and then, the second gate was adjusted for the second
trial. To be more specific, the gate was adjusted by ten
centimeters every trial. All in all, we have recorded five
trials. The data gathered was used to compute for the
cart’s average speed.

The table shows the average velocity and time of the cart within a given
displacement. The displacement of each trial was adjusted with an increment
of 10cm. With these results we could say that travel time (𝒕) is directly
̅) is
proportional to the distance traveled (∆𝑿) while the average velocity (𝒗
inversely proportional to time because the faster it goes, the less time it needs
to get to the end point.
 Determination of the Average Velocity of a Dynamic Cart
𝑿𝒐 = 𝟐𝟓𝒄𝒎
Trial 𝑿𝒇 ∆𝑿 = 𝑿𝒇 − 𝑿𝒐 𝒕 𝑿
̅=
𝒗
𝒕
1 65 cm 40 cm 0.57 s 70.35 cm/s
2 75 cm 50 cm 0.73 s 68.50 cm/s
3 85 cm 60 cm 0.90 s 66.86 cm/s
4 95 cm 70 cm 1.08 s 64.59 cm/s
5 105 cm 80 cm 1.28 s 62.41 cm/s

Based from the data obtained from the experiment, we could say that the
time (t) and position of the cart are directly proportional to each other.

The second part of the experiment is the “Determination of Acceleration

Due to Gravity Using Cart’s Acceleration”. On the second part of the
experiment, the track that is at zero degrees of elevation is elevated at ten
centimeters with the help of the stand. In this experiment, we only needed one
photo-gate and we positioned it at its respective place. The mode at the start
timer was changed to acceleration, one gate. We are required to compute for
the track’s inclination with the use of the length and height of the track. After
placing the cart at the top, it was released without any force
used. Upon releasing, we record for the acceleration of the cart with the use
of smart timer. For the other four trials, the same procedure is applied but with
different heights.

In the table below, the starting point of the cart on track is now elevated.
The height of the track (𝑯) is increased by 5cm for each trial. For each trial,
there is a constant distance for the cart to travel. With these results, we could
see that as the height of the track (𝑯) increases, the acceleration (𝒂) increases
as well. Also, the time for the cart to reach the 80cm mark decreases. We could
say that the height of track is directly proportional to the acceleration of the
cart while time for cart to reach the endpoint is inversely proportional to the
height of the track. For this table, we have reached a percent error of 4.71%.
This could be caused by various factors such as the set-up of the track or the
limited precision of the smart timer or photo-gates.
 Determination of Acceleration
Due to Gravity Using Cart’s Acceleration
𝑋𝑜 = 18 𝑐𝑚 𝐿 = 120 𝑐𝑚
𝑋𝑓 = 80 𝑐𝑚 ∆𝑋 = 𝑋 = 62 𝑐𝑚
Trial 𝑯 𝒂 𝑯 𝒂
𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽 = 𝒈= 𝟐𝑿
𝑳 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆 = √
𝒂

1 5 cm 50.20 cm/s2 1/24 976.8 cm/s2 1.745 s

2 7 cm 58.10 cm/s2 7/120 963.4 cm/s2 1.485 s
3 9 cm 63.30 cm/s2 3/40 1064.0 cm/s2 1.247 s
4 11 cm 72.50 cm/s2 4/120 999.1 cm/s2 1.164
5 13 cm 90.30 cm/s2 13/120 943.4 cm/s2 1.101

𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒈 = 933.85 𝑐𝑚⁄ 2 % 𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓 = 4.71%

𝑠

Based from the data obtained from the experiment, we could say that the
acceleration keeps increasing while the sinθ is unstable.

The last part of the experiment is the “Determination of Acceleration

Due to Using Picket Fence and Smart Timer”. In the last part of the experiment,
the only materials that are needed are the picket fence, smart timer and photo-
gate. We dropped the picket fence vertically within the photo-gate and record
the acceleration. There was a member’s hand under the photo-gate to catch the
picket fence. The acceleration of the picket fence should be near to the
acceleration due to gravity which is equal to 9.8 𝑚/𝑠 2 . We repeat the
procedure for five times.

In table below, we will no longer acquire the results with the usage of
the cart but with just the picket fence instead. The 𝒂 represents the acceleration
of picket fence’s drop. Although we didn’t get the exact 980 value, we still
managed to get values that are close enough to 980. The reason why we
couldn’t get the exact amount might be caused by the smart timer’s limited
precision or its reaction time.
 Table 3: Determination of Acceleration Due to Gravity Using Picket
Fence and Smart Timer
Trial 𝑎
1 997.2 cm/s2
2 989.4 cm/s2
3 979.8 cm/s2
4 981.2 cm/s2
5 993.4 cm/s2
AVE 988.2 cm/s2

CONCLUSION

We were able to prove the relationship between the height of the track and its
acceleration that it is also directly proportional based on the results. This explains
that when an object is at higher altitude, its acceleration is faster or the greater the
slope of the inclination, the larger the acceleration of an object down the incline.

In this experiment, we concluded that the velocity that is exhibited by the

object is directly proportional to the slope. Therefore, whatever characteristics the
velocity has, the slope will exhibit the same. If the velocity is constant, then the slope
is constant. If the velocity is changing, then, the slope is changing. If the velocity is
positive, then the slope is positive. In the third part of the experiment, we concluded
that the photo-gate is not 100% accurate. The more the picket fence will fall near the
sensor of the photo-gate, its acceleration will be nearer to the value of the
acceleration due to gravity; therefore, it become more accurate. Otherwise, this will
result to inaccuracy of acceleration results by the smart timer. Another thing is that
the photo-gates’ limited precision can also be a source of error.
 In a cart travelling a straight line in a levelled surface, time increases relatively
to the displacement. As the displacement gets longer, the average speed of the cart
slows down. When the track travelled by the cart is inclined, the acceleration of the
cart increases as the inclination gets higher. This is because of the constant
acceleration of gravity applied to an object. The time of the cart to reach its final
position decreases as the inclination increases. For free falling bodies, the average
acceleration due to gravity of an object is always constantly 980 cm/s 2, assuming
that there is no other outside force.
Name: SAKILAN, Anizza

Experiment: E102 Kinematics

Presentation

Graphs and Figures

Data Sheet and Sample

Computation

Answers to Question

Interpretation of Results

Conclusion

Total Score