ACTIVITY GUIDE

Activity 2: Kinematics- Describing Motion

(adapted and modified from “Describing Motion” of the IOPSpark- Institue of Physics, England)

I. Introduction

Kinematics is the Science of describing the motion of an object. It is a branch of

mechanics with the goal of presenting mental models that serve to describe and
cosequently explain the motion of real- world objects. In this field, the concern
lies on “how” the object moves, rather than “why” it moves. In the language of
kinematics (and mechanics in general), one must be familiar with the concepts
of scalars and vectors, distance, displacement, speed and velocity, including
acceleration. According to courses.lumenlearning.com, the study of kinematics
is often referred to as “the geometry of motion”.

To describe motion, one could start by looking at an object’s displacement. In its

simpliest sense, it is a vector quantity that refers to how far an object is with
respect to a reference frame (initial point). Not withstanding the actual distance
travelled (curved or straight path), displacement is a vector whose length is the
shortest distance from the initial to ther final point. Consequently, velocity is
the measurement of the rate and direction of motion of an object,also a vector
quantity. Simply put, it specifies an object’s speed and direction of motion and
is thereby a function of time. When an object is in motion with changing
velocity, the object is said to be accelerating. This puts acceleration as a vector
quantity that defines the rate at which an object’s velocity changes.

In his quest for knowledge, Galileo Galilei experimented on and explained his
findings about the motion of objects. In fact, his book on “Two New Sciences”
featured his ideas about objects motion which laid the foundation for the
science of materials and constructions. His ideas on motion and acceleration
had been used and modified in context up until today. This activity is a DIY
version of the experiment that Galileo performed in the 16th century.

It will allow you to explore kinematical concepts and perform graphing

activities to visualize and describe the motion of the object of interest. It is best
and highly recommended that knowledge on motion graphs be reviewed.
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 II. Materials & Equipment

• 0.5 meter Wooden runway (straight-sturdy cardboard is an

alternative)
• Stop watch (digital stopwatch on mobile phone will do)
• Tape measure/meter stick or ruler (measuring tool)
• Stopper (could be a small wooden block)
• marble
• Stack of books
• Protractor
• Marker

III. Procedure
1. Mark the ramp with 5cm distance interval.
2. Prepare and set the ramp as shown in the figure below. Position the ramp
such that the zero mark is on top. In place of the iron stand and clamp, use a
stack of books, such that the runway is inclined in about 20 degrees slope.

3. Measure the time taken for the marble to run from the top of the slope to
10cm along the slope. This is the first “stop”.(Hint: Place the stopper in the
10cm mark before rolling the marble)
4. Repeat the measurement atleast three times to establish a mean value.
5. Move the stop point to 15cm from the zero mark and repeat the process done
in step 2.
6. Continue the process, at 5cm interval, until the marble runs the whole length
of the ramp.
7. Repeat the experiment using two different angles (one angle less than 20 deg,
one angle more than 20 deg) 8. Record data in the Data Sheet.

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IV. Analysis & Discussion
1. Draw graphs of the following relationships:
a) final velocity vs. distance

Final Velocity VS Distance

0.86 0.88

0.76
Final Velocity (m/s)

0.7
0.62 0.64
0.6
0.54 0.56 0.54
0.5 0.52
0.48 0.46
0.44 0.42

0.3 0.32
0.26 0.26 0.28
0.24 0.24 0.22

0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45

Distance (m)

1O DEGREES 20 DEGREES 30 DEGREES

b) final velocity vs. mean time

Note: Use Microsoft Excel in graphing. Observe proper labels and attach
your screenshots in the lab report.

Final Velocity VS Mean Time

0.62 0.64
0.56
0.52
0.48 0.46
Final Velocity

0.44

0.24

0
0 0.83 0.61 0.69 1.12 0.96 1.46 1.52 1.6
Mean Time

20 DEGREES

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 Final Velocity VS Mean Time

0.86 0.88

0.76
0.7
Final Velocity

0.6
0.54 0.54
0.5

0
0 0.37 0.5 0.8 0.91 0.8 0.8 0.93 1.01
Mean Time

30 DEGREES

Final Velocity VS Mean Time

0.42

0.32
0.3
Final Velocity

0.28
0.26 0.26
0.24
0.22

0
0 0.66 0.9 1.47 1.77 2.46 3.13 2.73 2.12
Mean Time

10 DEGREES

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2. From the velocity vs. time graph, deduce the marbles acceleration.
On the basis of what I found, in every trial the marble acceleration
increases, the slope changes because of the marble velocity. Any time I change
the height of the ramp, marble acceleration increases. The higher the angle of
the ramp is, the more easily the ball speeds, to be seen in my charts and graphs.
3. Based on the results, what can you conclude about the relationship of time,
velocity and distance?
Velocity, Distance and Time relationship. A body's speed is the unit
distance over which it travels. If the distance is in km and time is in hours, the
speed is km/hour. When the distance is m, the time is m/sec, so the pace is
m/sec.
4. Based on the results, what can you conclude about the effect of changing
slope angle to:
a) marble’s velocity
Marble velocity shifts slope due to force trigger changes in the velocity or
trajectory of the marble, we could infer that forces cause speed changes, as the
marble velocity changes in the slope.
b) marble’s acceleration
Marble acceleration shifts slope when the velocity of an object changes,
the acceleration is said to be. The rate varies over time. The pace is different.
Acceleration occurs as an object's speed increases or decreases, or when the
trajectory varies.
5. What can you conclude about the relationship of velocity and acceleration?
Use your experimental results as basis.
I assume that the speed and acceleration relationship is that they are all
bound to speed. The momentum shift is called acceleration, while the speed is
the speed of something in a certain direction related both in periods of object
speed. All of these vector quantities have a given direction and are meters per
second, except for the speed units, while the acceleration units are square
meters per second. Changing the speed in one second is an acceleration
example.

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Synopsis of Formulae

The Four Fundamental Kinematic Equations

𝒂 = 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

𝒙 = 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆
𝒗 = 𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚
𝒕 = 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆

Note: These equations are only accurate if the acceleration of an object is constant

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