Experiment 2

Uniformly Accelerated Motion

The object of this experiment is to gain an understanding of the concepts of average velocity,
instantaneous velocity, and uniform acceleration. We will then apply the defining equations for
these quantities to determine the acceleration of a freely falling body.

Theory

The average velocity, V, of a particle during a time interval, t, is defined to be the displacement x f -
xo during that interval divided by t.

< v > = (xf - xo) / t (1)

The equation is defined in terms of intervals of time, but suppose we wish to know the velocity at a
particular instant in time. The instantaneous velocity, v, at time t is defined to be x divided by t
(an interval about t) as t goes to zero.

v = limit x / t
t0

The Greek or is usually placed in front of a symbol to denote a small change in the specified
quantity. In a graph of displacement versus time, the slope of the curve at any instant t is the
instantaneous velocity at time t. In figure 2.1(a) the slope of the displacement-time curve at point B
gives the value of the instantaneous velocity at that same time as shown in figure 2.1(b). In
particular, if the displacement versus time curve is a parabola, then there is a linear relationship
between the instantaneous velocity and time. To better understand this statement we must
introduce the concept of acceleration.
 Figure 2.1

The average acceleration of a particle during a time interval, t, is defined to be the change in
velocity, vf - vo, during that interval divided by t, the time interval.

<a> = (vf - vo) / t (2)

The symbol vo is the original velocity at the beginning of the time interval and v f is the final velocity
at the end of the interval. As before, the instantaneous acceleration at time t is defined as the ratio
v over t (a small time interval containing t) as t goes to zero.

a = limit v/ t
t0

Of course, if the acceleration is constant as is the case with the acceleration due to gravity near
the surface of the earth, then the average acceleration is also the instantaneous acceleration at all
times. For the remainder of this discussion and the experiment the acceleration shall be
considered to be constant in time.

Rewriting equation (2) we get vf = vo + at (3).

This is the linear relationship between v and t as depicted in figure 2.1(b). If the acceleration is
constant, then the average velocity is given by <v> = ( vo + vf) (4)
as may be seen by examining figure 2.1(b). Combining equations (1) and (4) yields the following:

xf - xo = (t)(<v>) = (vo + vf)t (5)

Substituting the expression for vf (equation (3)) into the last expression results in the relation

xf - xo = (vo + vo + at)t

or

xf = xo + vot + (at2) (6)

Note that this is the equation of a parabola which confirms the earlier statements regarding the
graphs of figure 2.1.

In this experiment, a strip of wax paper marked with a series of dots equally spaced in time will be
produced (see figure below ).

figure 2.2

By knowing the time interval, t, between dots the average velocity between every pair of dots may
be determined. In other words, if the distance between a pair of dots is 1.31 cm and the time
between dots is 1/60 seconds, then the average velocity, <v>, is equal to

x / t = 1.31 cm / (1/60 seconds) = 78.6 cm/s

The average velocity is equal to the instantaneous velocity at the center of the time interval.
Assume that we have calculated the average velocities (<v 1>, <v2>,<v3>, . . . ,
<vn>,<vn+1>,<vn+2>, . . . , <v2n>) for a total of 2n intervals. We may now apply equation (2) to
determine the acceleration during each interval.

<a> = v / t = (<v4> -<v3>) / t

The usual averaging method may then be applied to determine the best value of a.

a = (a21 + a32 + a43 + . . . + a2n,2n-1) / (2n - 1)

This is the logical thing to do but in fact this is a very poor way to treat the data as can be seen in
the next step. What we have actually done without realizing it is

a = [(<v2> - <v1>) + (<v3> - <v2>) + (<v4> - <v3>) + . . . + (<v2n-1> - <v2n-2>) + (<v2n> - <v2n-1>)] / (2n -
1)( t)

which reduces to a = (<v2n> - <v1>) / (2n - 1)( t)

By this method we have inadvertently cast out all but two pieces of data. We will use a different
averaging method, the so-called Method of Differences. The Method of Differences consists of
dividing the data on average velocities into two groups numbered 1 to n and n+1 to 2n. Instead of
subtracting successive readings, this method calls for subtracting successive average velocities of
one group from the corresponding average velocities in the other group. Of course the time
interval will be different and must be adjusted before calculating the acceleration.

an+1,1 = (<vn+1> - <v1>) / (nt)

The averaging of the various values of acceleration produced by this method gives a more reliable
measurement of "a" as can be seen from the following:

a = (an+1,1 + an+2,2 + an+3,3 + . . . + a2n,n) / n

or

a = [(<vn+1> - <v1>) + (<vn+2> - <v2>) + . . . + (<v2n> - <vn>)] / (n2t)

The intermediate readings do not cancel out.

Procedure

Equipment: The apparatus consists of a support column with an electromagnet at the top to hold
and release the plummet. The column also supports two vertical wires and a waxed paper strip
which hangs between the wires. Sparks produced b a spark time jump from the high voltage wire
to a projecting metal rim on the plummet and then from the plummet through the waxed paper to
the ground wire. Each sparks burns a small hole in the paper which can be easily identified by a
small amount of melted wax around the hole. Since the sparks are produced at a regular rate (t =
1/60 seconds), the tape provides an accurate record of distance versus time for a freely falling
body.

Experimental method: The experimental procedure is as follows:

(a) Measure the smaller distances on the tape with a vernier caliper. Measure the larger distances
using a meter stick.
(b) Calculate the average velocity in each of these intervals by dividing the interval distance by
t(1/60 seconds). Record the values obtained on the data sheet and label the values of <v> by
the interval they represent. If a dot is missing you may use the double interval distance and divide
by twice the time interval (1/30 second).
 (c) You now have the average velocity for 2n time intervals. Plot the average velocity versus time.
Let the horizontal axis represent time in 1/60 second increments and let the instantaneous
velocity corresponding to the center of each time interval. The average velocity in any time interval
is the instantaneous velocity at the middle of that time interval. The points should form a
reasonably straight line although there will be some scatter due to random error. Use a
straightedge to draw the best possible straight line through the points.
(d) Obtain the acceleration due to gravity from the slope of the line in section (c).
(e) Now apply the Method of Differences to the average velocity data to determine the
acceleration of the plummet.

*NOTE: If a dot was missing on the tape and the average velocity was computed for a double
interval, then a double interval should be used in the second average velocity group. In other
words, suppose dot three is missing and the average velocity, <v 23>, was calculated for the
interval from dot two to dot four. To properly apply the Method of Differences, we must calculate
the difference in average velocity between <v 23> and a double interval average velocity <v n+2,n+3> in
the second group.