(a) Show that the panel was dropped from a height of approximately 5 m.
(3)
Addu High School DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Hithadhoo/Addu PHYSICS
CORE PRACTICAL 1:
1. A student investigated the motion of a small rectangular panel. The panel
was held above the floor next to a measuring tape.
The panel was released and, using a video camera on a smartphone, its
motion as it fell to the floor was recorded. Using the position of the panel
at regular time intervals the velocity of the panel was obtained.
The velocity-time graph shows the motion of the panel until it reaches
the floor.
Addu high school/Dept of Science/Physics/unit 1/work sheet / Acceleration due to gravity
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(b) (i) Use the graph to calculate the maximum acceleration of the panel. (3)
(ii) Without further calculation sketch an acceleration-time graph for the
panel on the axes below. (4)
(c) Explain how the student can check the reliability of these results. (2)
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2. You are asked to determine the acceleration of free fall at the surface of
the Earth, g, using a free fall method in the laboratory.
(a) Describe the apparatus you would use, the measurements you would
take and explain how you would use them to determine g. (6)
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Addu high school/Dept of Science/Physics/unit 1/work sheet / Acceleration due to gravity
(b) Give one precaution you would take to ensure the accuracy of your
measurements. (1)
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3. A student carried out an experiment to obtain a value for the acceleration
of free fall g. A small ball was dropped from rest and the motion of the
ball was captured using a digital camera. The student counted the
frames from the recording to measure the time t for the ball to fall to the
ground.
A ruler was visible on the recording to enable the student to measure the
distance s fallen by the ball.
(i) State the equation that the student should use to calculate the value
of g. (1)
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(ii) A value for g was obtained and was greater than expected. Explain
one possible source of error that would have produced a greater than
expected value. (2)
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 Questions 4 and 5 refer to the information below. Questions 6, 7, and 8 refer to an experiment to determine the acceleration
Two groups of students were asked to perform an experiment to determine of free fall by measuring the time taken for a tennis ball to fall through a
the acceleration of free-fall. Each group repeated their experiment three given height. The height is measured with a measuring tape.
times to check their results.
In each experiment a steel ball fell through a height of just under 1 m and 6. The times recorded are
the time for the ball to fall was measured. 0.96 s 0.98 s 0.89 s 0.99 s
• Group 1 used a stopwatch to measure the time. Which is the best statement of the time the ball took to fall?
• Group 2 used light gates connected to a data logger to measure the time. A 0.955 s
4. The students measured the height the ball fell using a metre rule. B 0.96 s
The height should be recorded as C 0.976 s
A 85 cm D 0.98 s
B 0.85 m
C 0.850 m 7. Which of the following quantities is also required in the calculation?
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D 8.5 × 10 m A initial velocity of the ball
B mass of the ball
5. Select the row from the table that correctly describes the reliability and C diameter of the ball
validity of the results obtained for each group. D density of the ball

8. Which of the following is not a possible source of error in the experiment?

A reaction time
B zero error on the measuring tape
C parallax error in reading the height
D ball not reaching terminal velocity

Addu high school/Dept of Science/Physics/unit 1/work sheet / Acceleration due to gravity 3