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Falling Body Lab Report

This experiment studied the acceleration of falling bodies. Two steel balls of different masses were dropped from various heights and the time taken to hit a receptor plate was measured. A graph of average height vs average time squared was made and the slope was used to calculate the acceleration due to gravity. The calculated value of 5.90 m/s^2 had a 40% error compared to the accepted value of 9.81 m/s^2. Sources of error included inaccuracies in the release sensor and height measurements. Analysis showed a linear relationship between height and time squared, and that weight did not affect falling bodies of similar size.

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Lauren Kathleen Ratliff
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230 views2 pages

Falling Body Lab Report

This experiment studied the acceleration of falling bodies. Two steel balls of different masses were dropped from various heights and the time taken to hit a receptor plate was measured. A graph of average height vs average time squared was made and the slope was used to calculate the acceleration due to gravity. The calculated value of 5.90 m/s^2 had a 40% error compared to the accepted value of 9.81 m/s^2. Sources of error included inaccuracies in the release sensor and height measurements. Analysis showed a linear relationship between height and time squared, and that weight did not affect falling bodies of similar size.

Uploaded by

Lauren Kathleen Ratliff
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Physics 1420 Section B2

FALLING BODY

Lauren Ratliff

Partner: Alexandria Park


Date Performed: February 17th, 2020
TA: Paul Lashomb

The purpose of this experiment was to study the acceleration of a falling body.
In doing so, we dropped two steel balls of different masses from varying
heights and measured the amount of time it took each ball to hit the receptor
plate placed directly under the release mechanism. For the larger steel ball,
we took five measurements from six different heights. For the smaller steel
ball, we took five measurements from two different heights. The average
height verses the average time squared was graphed for both balls. From this
graph and the slope of its best fit line, we were able to find that the
acceleration due to gravity for the steel ball was 5.90 m/s2, with a 40% error
when compared to the accepted value of gravity at 9.81 m/s2.
Discussion
After this experiment was complete, a calculated value of 5.90 m/s2 was
determined to be our g value. This value has a 40% error when compared to
the accepted value of g at 9.81 m/s2. As a result, a few different errors can be
attributed to this large difference in values. The first error stems from the
instruments being used. More specifically, the sensor that is triggered to start
the timer as the ball is released from the top of the apparatus. Often,
throughout the experiment, this sensor detected no movement after the ball
was released or needed its wiring to be adjusted. Additionally, on a few
occasions the ball had not yet been released, however its position was being
adjusted, and the timer started. Because of this difference between the point
when the ball was actually released and the point when the sensor started
timing, we believe that some of our measurements for the time might not be
very accurate when compared to others.
Another error could have stemmed from the wrongful measuring of the
height. Due to the fragility of the apparatus (often the ball would fall
unintentionally or the wiring/clamps would slip) measuring the height was
extremely difficult. If the measurement stick was not perpendicular to the
ground and running exactly from the top of the timer stop pad to the center of
the ball, the height was incorrect. Additionally, at some points the only way we
could get the clamp to stay on the stand was if we positioned it at a slight
angle. This also would have lead to errors when recording the height
measurement.
With regards to the analysis of theses measurements, we found a
roughly linear relationship between the height and time squared for ball one.
We used these data points to create our graph and the relationship among
these points to calculate our g value. Moreover, this linear relationship can
also be used to predict the time for an object of similar size to fall from a
height. In the analysis of ball two—a ball of lighter mass—we found that the
measurements fit the trend line for the data collected for ball one. Ultimately,
this similarity among the two data sets implies that weight does not matter
when studying falling bodies of similar size.

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