Name: Group: Date:

Photo Finish Activity

Today, we will be collecting and analyzing data collected from your group members and you
walking. To do this, we will be using CBR’s. You may have used them in a science class before.
They are a motion sensor device that emit many sound pings. The sound pings bounce off an
object and return to the CBR. This is how it collects data on distance, velocity, and acceleration.
The data you collect today will be used to make observations, predictions, conclusions, and
comparisons between the members in your group.

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Materials:

 Ti-Nspire CAS or Ti-84

 Pencil
 This packet
 CBR2
 Calculator connecting cord

Discussion:

With a partner, discuss the differences between the two graphs created from swinging the
pendulum. Interpret each distance graph.

Procedure:

1. Set up a table at the start of your walking path. This is where your CBR will be set up.
2. Turn on your calculator and open a new document.
3. Connect the CBR2 to the calculator. The Data Quest should open automatically. It should
look something like this. Your position will be different.

BURGIN, GOOD, HAYER, AND HUELSKAMP PHOTO FINISH ACTIVITY 1

Name: Group: Date:

4. Change the timing of the graph so one trial is ten seconds long. Do this by clicking on
duration and typing 10 as shown below.

5. Change the format so it shows velocity and position graphs by clicking on the little graph
symbol on the bottom left corner. Your screen should look like the screen below.

6. Set up your CBR on the table facing toward the start of your track. It should be pointed
directly toward the direction the person is standing and will end at.
7. Have one person of your group stand directly in front of the CBR while another person
controls the CBR and calculator.
8. Click the button on the CBR so you hear the clicking noise.
9. Have the person controlling the calculator count down from three. When they say GO,
they should simultaneously click the play button on the calculator. The other person
should begin walking. You will know it is working or started if data is being recorded.
Your screen should look like the one below.

BURGIN, GOOD, HAYER, AND HUELSKAMP PHOTO FINISH ACTIVITY 2

Name: Group: Date:

10. Once ten seconds is up, the CBR will stop recording data. Decide if you want to redo this
trial or save it.
a. To redo it, just set up and click play again.
b. To save it, click the check mark to store the data set. See below.

11. Complete steps 5-8 for each member of the group. Be sure to write down which member
completed each trial or run. Try having fun with it and incorporating different walking
techniques like walking heal to toe, taking pauses, or walking backward. NOTE: one
person should walk normally without any of these techniques.
12. Once everyone has been recorded, share the file with the rest of your group.

13. Create a new tab on your calculator

14. Open a spreadsheet
15. Input time in the first column by linking the time variable from your trial. Time is the
same for each person, so you will not have to input a new time for your partner. To do
this, scroll up to box A, click h, and link the time data from your run.

BURGIN, GOOD, HAYER, AND HUELSKAMP PHOTO FINISH ACTIVITY 3

Name: Group: Date:

16. Input your distance and velocity data into the next two columns by adding the data in the
same way you added the time.
17. Create a new tab on your calculator and open a Data & Statistics page.
18. Click on the label for the x-axis and select time. Click on the label for the y-axis and
select your distance.
19. Confer with the rest of your group and draw all of your distance graphs

20. Go to the menu, select Analyze, then select Regression. Select “Show Linear” to see the
line of best fit for each set of data.
21. Draw the best fit lines on your graphs above using a different color.
22. Record the r value and equation of the line next to the graph.

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Small Group Discussion:

 Compare and contrast your distance and velocity of graphs with your groups’
corresponding graphs.

BURGIN, GOOD, HAYER, AND HUELSKAMP PHOTO FINISH ACTIVITY 4

Name: Group: Date:

 Did you use any different “walking techniques”? How were those portrayed on the
graph?

 According to the graphs, who walked further in the ten seconds? How do you know that?

 According to the graphs, who walked faster overall despite the distance? How did you
decide?

 Who reached the highest velocity?

 If you had to predict how long it would take someone to walk 30 meters, which person’s
equation would be best to do that with? Why?

BURGIN, GOOD, HAYER, AND HUELSKAMP PHOTO FINISH ACTIVITY 5

Name: Group: Date:

 Compare the statistics from your linear regression. Who had the highest r value? What do
you notice about a higher r versus a lower r (hint: look at the graphs and their line created
from the statistics)? What does r tell you about a graph?

 Which graphs would be best represented by a linear function? Which graphs wouldn’t?

 Do all data sets need a function to represent them?

Group Discussion:

 What issues did you have with the CBR? How did you address them?

 In what other ways could you use the CBR?

BURGIN, GOOD, HAYER, AND HUELSKAMP PHOTO FINISH ACTIVITY 6