Name__________________________ Partners___________________________________

Lab 1 – Position and Velocity JUNIOR PHYSICS

LABORATORY

Studying the motion of an object requires a record of the object's position at different times, preferably at
regular time intervals. With such a record you can study the position and velocity of an object as a
function of time graphically.

Recording the motion of an object with the "eyeball and stopwatch" method can be difficult and
inaccurate, especially when the motion of the object is irregular. To overcome this difficulty, you will
employ sonar motion sensors to determine the position of an object (a cart). The laboratory computers
will record the positions detected by the motion sensors at regular time intervals. Collecting data with the
computer saves time and allows for analysis with a variety of powerful techniques contained in the
computer software.
In this experiment, you will move the cart along the surface of the table in order to generate specific
position versus time and velocity versus time graphs.

Experimental Setup
a. Turn on the PASCO GLX device.
b. Plug the Digital Adapter into the GLX and then plug the motion sensor into the adapter. Both
stereo plugs must be plugged into the adapter. If the plugs are reversed, the motion sensor will
not operate.
c. Setup the components of the experiment on the lab table as shown in Figure 1.
d. In the sensor menu, find the “trigger rate” for the motion sensor. Set it to 20 Hz. In the graph
window, be sure that you are displaying both position versus time and velocity versus time.
e. Follow the directions given in class to make the GLX display simultaneous graphs of position
versus time and velocity versus time.

1. Measurement 1
a. Click on the ‘start’ button (the “play” triangle) and move the cart with constant velocity away
from the motion sensor. If you’d like, you could measure one of your lab partners position
instead: let him walk away from the motion sensor at constant velocity
b. When the cart nears the end of the table, click on the ‘stop’ button.
c. Repeat step a, but move the cart toward the motion sensor.
 d. Review your graphs. If they look correct, move on to the next step. If not, repeat the previous
steps.
e. Move the cart away and then toward the motion sensor in one motion. Be sure to capture the
“turn around” on your graphs.
f. Save your data! First, save your data to the memory built into the GLX, then copy it to your
USB drive. Your USB drive will show up as a third icon, not the icons labeled RAM or Flash.
You will need the data on a flash drive, as the analysis will occur outside of the lab using the
PASCO DataStudio software found on the Regis network.

You will need to analyze your graphs using DataStudio, a software package found on all Regis
computers. These graphs will need to be handed in with the rest of your lab.

2. Measurement 2
Using the lab cart, recreate the following graphs.
A)

b)

c)
DO NOT HAND IN THIS SHEET OF PAPER