Exp 18 : Determination

of the acceleration of free fall, g using leT

Instructions:
An experiment is set up to record the time taken by a ball bearing to fall a known
distance. The ball bearing is initially held a measured distance above a surface by an
electromagnet. An electronic timer records the time taken between the electromagnet
being switched off and the ball bearing hitting the surface. The results are recorded in
table 1.
The experimenter assesses the uncertainties as follows:
.. Uncertainties in time is 0.005 s owing to residual magnetism in the ball bearing .
.. Uncertainties in distance is 0.5 cm.
Analyse these data using any computer spreadsheet in order to estimate the acceleration
of free fall, g. Include an estimate of the uncertainty in your answer.

Distance,

Il-

Diem

lI

30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
110.0
120.0
130.0
140.0
150.0
160.0

I
I

I
I

I
I

f1
0.270
0.305
0.333
0.366
0.392
0.4l3
0.438
0.458
0.479
0.499
0.:519
0.535
0.553
0.571

Time for free fall, T I seconds

----r-

T2

T3

0.269
0.305
0.334
0.365
0.392
0.413
0.438
0.459
0.479
0.499
0.519
0.534
0.552
0.570

0.269
0.304
0.333
0.366
0.392
0.412
0.439
0.457
0.478
0.500
0.519
0.535
0.553
0.572

Table 1: Time taken for a ball to fall at a certain distance.

:!