The Kinematics of Skateboarding

By Liam Baker, Sam AW, and Ben Hall 1/29/13, Revise Date 2/18/13

Purpose:
The Purpose of this experiment is to practice equations involving velocity and acceleration by measuring the time and distance of a skateboarder through multiple tests, comparing the data from these tests, and plugging that data into equations to find what the acceleration and average velocity of a skateboarder are. We will also do similar tests with the skateboarder going switch stance, and use the data from these tests to find these velocities and accelerations.

Materials:
Skateboard Stopwatch Tape Measure Clipboard Calculator

Procedure:
1. First, we chose a location that would be good as a launching point, where the subject would jump off a curb, into the basketball court.

2. We then chose a starting point (point a), 36 feet away from the launching point (point b). This starting spot was an oil stain in the parking lot, we chose it so we

3. 4.

5. 6.

could use the same spot every time. We also had a landing point (point c) that was the variable, as it was always different. As the skateboarder went, we had one person start the stopwatch, to record their time from point (a) to point (c). Once the skateboarder jumps from the launching point, another person stands parallel to where they landed, being point (c). Once they reached point c, the stopwatch was stopped, and then they would then measure the distance from point b to point c using the tape measure. We repeated steps 3&4 three times, to collect enough data. I came back on my own time and re-did the experiment, but skateboarding switch stance instead of regular. This can be compared to writing with your left hand, when your dominant hand is your right. This slightly affects speed, which then changes the time of the experiment and distance of the jump (point b to point c).

Data:

Time and Distance of Regular Stance Skateboarding

Test #

Time (seconds) (point a to point c)

Distance (point a to point c)

1 2 3 4

3.48 sec

42 ft 1 in

3.7 sec 42 ft 2 in 3.14 sec 3.11 sec 43 ft 1 in 42 ft 7 in

Time and Data of Switch Stance Skateboarding

Test # Time (secs) (Point A to Point C) 5 4.53 secs Distance (Point A Point C) 39 ft 10 in

4.6 secs

39 ft 9 in

4.75 secs

39 ft 7 in

4.34 secs

40 ft 1 in

Analysis of Data:
When looking at this experiment, its clear that every test run will have a different velocity, as well as acceleration. We can solve for the velocity in these runs by plugging variables into the equation v= d/t, (d= distance, t= time). When solving for velocity, we must add 36 feet to our distance, since the point A is 36 feet away from point B, and we started the stopwatch at point A. example: To figure out the velocity for our first test, we will plug in our variables to the equation, giving us v= 42.08 ft/ 3.48 sec 0 = 12.09 ft/sec. We can solve for acceleration by plugging variables into the equation a= vf-vo/t (vf= final velocity, vo=initial

velocity). Example: To find out what the acceleration was for the first test, we plug in our initial velocity (0) and our final velocity (12.09 ft/sec) into the numerator of the equation, and plug our time (3.48 sec) onto the denominator. This gives us a= 12.09 ft/sec - 0 ft/sec / 3.48 sec = 3.47 ft/sec2. Once we have plugged all of our data into these equations, we have this information:

Regular Stance Experiment

Test #

Average Velocity

Acceleration

Elapsed Time (sec)

12.09 ft/sec 3.68 m/sec 8.28 mi/h

3.47 ft/sec2 1.05 m/sec2 2.36 mi/h2 3.07 ft/sec2 .93 m/sec2 2.09 mi/h2 4.36 ft/sec2 1.32 m/sec2 2.97 mi/h2 4.4 ft/sec2 1.34 m/sec2 3 mi/h2

3.48 sec

Distance (from point A to point C) 42.08 ft

11.39 ft/sec 3.47 m/sec 7.76 mi/h 13.71 ft/sec 4.17 m/sec 9.34 mi/h 13.69 ft/sec 4.17 m/sec 9.33 mi/h

3.7 sec

42.16 ft

3.14 sec

43.08 ft

3.11 sec

42.58 ft

Switch Stance Experiment

Test #

Average Velocity

Acceleration

Elapsed Time (secs) 4.53 sec

8.79 ft/sec 2.67 m/sec 5.99 mi/h 8.64 ft/sec 2.63 m/sec 5.89 mi/h 8.33 ft/sec 2.53 m/sec 5.67 mi/h 9.23 ft/sec 2.81 m/sec 6.29 mi/h

1.94 ft/sec2 0.59 m/sec2 1.32 mi/h2

Distance (point A to point C) 39.83 ft

1.87 ft/sec2 0.56 m/sec2 1.27 mi/h2

4.6 sec

39.75 ft

1.75 ft/sec2 0.53 m/sec2 1.19 mi/h2

4.75 sec

39.58 ft

2.12 ft/sec2 0.64 m/sec2 1.44 mi/h2

4.34 sec

40.08 ft

Before explaining what this means, Im first going to calculate what the total distance would be, if there were an increased velocity. If I were to take test 4 of the first experiment, keep it in the same time frame, but raise the velocity by 1 ft/sec, my modeling equation would be 14.69 ft/sec / 3.11 sec=d. To solve this, I would multiply 14.69 ft/sec x 3.11 sec, which would give me an approximate distance of 45.68 feet. If I wanted to calculate an even higher velocity, I would keep the same time frame but raise the velocity of experiment 6 by 2 ft/sec, giving me the equation 10.64 ft/sec x 4.6 sec, giving us an approximate distance of 45 feet. When observing these numbers, I can predict that a higher velocity in the switch stance skateboarding (experiment 6) will result in a total distance similar to those of regular stance skating (experiment 4), whereas a higher velocity in regular stance skating will lead to much higher distances than those possible through switch stance skating. Had we given the skateboarder

more space to gain speed, I feel that both would have higher velocities, but this would only work to a certain point since skateboards can only get so much speed from just pushing. Now, when looking at this data, you may end up asking yourself What do these numbers mean? or Why are the switch stance times and distances much shorter? and I even asked myself this, initially. The switch stance data is different because its comparable to writing left handed when you would normally use your right hand. This means that it is much harder to push, maintain speed, balance, jump, etc. and it puts a major change in the experiment. Now if you look at the data, you may notice that the tests with longer elapsed time resulted in lower acceleration/average velocity, and the tests with shorter elapsed time resulted in higher acceleration/average velocity. This happens because if the skateboarder has a higher speed, they take less time to get to their goal (in this case, point C) and vice versa. If we take a deeper look at the data, we can also notice that Tests 3 and 4 are similar in time, acceleration, and velocity. Seems pretty normal, right? But if you refer to the table in the Data section, youll notice that their distances from point A to point C are 6 inches apart. If you look even more, youll notice Tests 1 and 2 have similar distances from point A to point C, only an inch apart. The Switch Stance Experiment brings up similar trends, where you can notice that as the average velocity goes up, time goes down, and vice versa. Its also noticed that the switch skating produced a top speed of 9.23 ft/sec whereas the regular skating produced a top speed of 13.71 ft/sec. This shows how noticeably different switch and regular skating are, as its much harder to control your speed when skating switch.

Error Analysis:
In this experiment, there were a few variables that we didnt account for; that Im guessing had an effect on our data. The first was the fact the skateboarder started differently every time, with different amounts of pushes and different strengths for each of this pushes. Sometimes they only pushed once, other times they pushed 2-3 times, and this definitely changed their speed throughout the separate tests. I feel that our results would have most likely been different, had we been more focused on the number of pushes the skater took in the experiment, and picked a set number, so that we would have had less variables. Another variable that could have possibly changed this experiment is the fact that the skater was on an incline, and that probably added to their speed. Had this test been done on flat ground, I feel that the speeds would have been more consistent, and the data would line up more. A final variable that Ive taken into consideration is wind resistance; perhaps the wind could have slowed down the skater different amounts depending on the time of each test? Its hard to say if this particularly changed the experiment, but it is a possibility.

Conclusion:
In this lab, I learned a lot of material, not only about physics, but also about how to properly conduct an experiment, and how to write about it. Physics class initially confused me, but getting to deal with it in a real world environment, for things that actually happened, helped me realize that its not that challenging. When solving these equations, I could tell that I was doing it right, since you can visualize it in your head, and realize that what youre doing is either right, or incredibly wrong. I also discovered that even the smallest fractions of inches, seconds, meters, etc. can change an entire set of data, and its important to keep a close eye on the detail of what youre doing. I did not have a hypothesis for this experiment, but I can most definitely say that this was a great learning experience for me.