determining g ( acceleration) Flashcards
what is the equipment needed for the experiment
clamp stand
electro magnet connected to low voltage dc supply
steel ball bearing
2 light gates or a timer
data logger
counter weight
pad for ball to land on
metre ruler
brief summary of experiment (light gates)
set up apparatus
connecting light gates to a data logger
position lower light gate to be a specific distance from the upper one and vary it throughout experiment
use a metre ruler alongside clamp to do this
then turn on EM and attach ball bearing
switch off EM and note the ti8me tyaken for the ball to land on pad
then reduse (h) by moving the lower light gate higher and repeat the steps. do this for multiple heights.
find mean values for h
then plot a graph for 2h againts t squared and the gradient will be g ( accleleration)
what are the safety precautions
use a pad on the bottom of the clamp to cushion the ball when it lands so it does not ping up
use a counterweight to weigh down the clamp so it does not topple over
what can we do to improve accuracy
the distance between the upper light gates and the ball bearing should be kept constant so that it reaches the upper light gate with the same speed
ball bearing should be dense to mitigate the effects of air resistance
to reduce parallex error of reading the height the ruler can be clamper vertically next to light gates.
how can we change the experiment to use a stop watch instead of light gates
and meausre time taken for the ball to land on pad after the release
use a tennis ball however it will experience air resistance so use a ball bearing for better results
reaction tims will affect results largely therefor the light gate experiment is more accurate
what is free fall
if the only force acting on an object is gravity
what sfety precautions need to taken when using an EM
EM’s heat over time so switch off when not in use
