Experiment 2: Acceleration

February 6th, 2013

Adam Schlichther
PHY 222

What I Expected:
When a ball is rolled down an incline, it undergoes acceleration due to gravity, based on the
angle of incline. The acceleration can be modeled by the equation a = g(sin). The ball bearing will be
rolled down an incline in two trials, one with the initial velocity measured at release, and one with the
initial velocity measured at the bottom of the ramp. It is expected that the second trial (where the ball
has already accelerated at initial velocity) will have a greater velocity throughout. It is also expected that
the slope of the acceleration will be identical, although one trial will have a higher initial acceleration.
What I Observed:
As expected, the ball which started rolling before the initial measurement covered more
distance in less time. The accelerations were also found to be constant and near identical, as predicted.
Compare Observed to Expected:
The R values found for the Distance vs. Time graphs indicated a high level of accuracy with
measurements. The R values for the Velocity vs Time graph presented much lower values, indicating a
higher margin of error. Overall, the observations related very closely to the predictions. The R values
were closer to 1 with the slower (Vo=0) trials, which was also expected. Sources of error include human
error in timing and start/stopping of the stop watch, improper transfer of data into an excel sheet (this
is highly unlikely), and a small amount of friction from finger contact when releasing the ball bearing. Air
resistance and friction due to the surface may have also contributed to error. Lastly, if the table was offlevel by any increment, it may have contributed to error. The same person was timing, and the same
person was releasing the ball for the duration of the experiment to reduce variation in technique. The
ball bearing was released as smoothly as possible for each and every trial.

Trial 1: Initial Velocity = 0

x(cm)
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100

t1(s)

t2(s)

0.64
0.93
1.03
1.26
1.37
1.66
1.7
1.89
1.99
2.19

0.67
0.73
1.03
1.17
1.47
1.63
1.75
1.87
2.03
2.09

t3(s)

t2(s2)

t(s)

0.69
0.85
1.03
1.29
1.46
1.56
1.71
1.9
2.09
2.07

0.67
0.84
1.03
1.24
1.43
1.62
1.72
1.89
2.04
2.12

0.44
0.70
1.06
1.54
2.05
2.61
2.96
3.56
4.15
4.48

v(cm/s)

Velocity

15.00
17.8027 9.031272
23.90
1.098486 1.946002
29.13 Acceleration
32.26
19.31152 6.519383
34.88
1.407151 2.159746
37.11
40.70
42.40
44.19
47.24

Trial 2: Initial Velocity > 0

x(cm)
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100

t1(s)
0.34
0.5
0.69
0.88
1.06
1.23
1.35
1.4
1.55
1.63

t2(s)
0.45
0.53
0.66
0.87
1
1.17
1.39
1.4
1.54
1.66

t3(s)
0.33
0.57
0.68
0.85
1.03
1.19
1.32
1.45
1.49
1.63

t2(s2)

t(s)
0.37
0.53
0.68
0.87
1.03
1.20
1.35
1.42
1.53
1.64

0.14
0.28
0.46
0.75
1.06
1.43
1.83
2.01
2.33
2.69

v(cm/s)
26.79
37.50
44.33
46.15
48.54
50.14
51.72
56.47
58.95
60.98

Velocity
20.75989 26.4761
1.991589 2.713217
Acceleration
22.60389 24.16772
2.362011 2.691499

120
100

Distance (cm) vs Time (s)

x = (20.76cm/s22.0cm/s2)t2 + (26.476cm/s2.7cm/s)t
R = 0.9956

Distance (cm)

80
60
Vo = O
40

Vo > 0

20

x = (17.803cm/s21.1cm/s2)t2 + (9.0313cm/s2.0cm/s)t
R = 0.9961

0
-0.5

0.0

0.5

-20

1.5

2.0

2.5

Time (s)

70.00
60.00

1.0

Velocity (cm/s) vs Time (s)

x = (22.604cm/s22.36cm/s2)t2 + (24.168cm/s22.69cm/s2)
R = 0.917

Velocity (cm/s)

50.00
40.00
Vo = 0

30.00

Vo > 0
20.00
x = (19.312cm/s21.41cm/s2)t2 + (6.5194cm/s22.16cm/s2)
R = 0.9593

10.00
0.00
-0.50

0.00

0.50

1.00
Time (s)

1.50

2.00

2.50