Popper Lab

Cate Shepherd, Sophia Smith, Lucia Claire

Introduction

The purpose of this lab was to determine the force needed to lift an object to its
maximum height. Newton’s second law, Σ𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎, was used, as well as the equations
2
for kinematics without time, 𝑉 = 𝑉 0
+ 2𝑎 (𝑌 − 𝑌0) We met the course domains of

Analyzing and Interpreting Data by using appropriate mathematics to analyze data in

order to answer applicable research objectives, and we used Mathematics and
Computational Thinking by identifying and transcribing appropriate physics equations as
they apply to a given situation, and identifying and substituting values for individual
variables.

Variables

The independent variable was how we launched the popper. Which affected the dependent
variable, how high it launched. Which we then measured to find the pop force. The constants
were that we used the same popper in the same space the whole time. With the same phone
and tape measure to measure the height for the whole time.

Hypothesis

What is the amount of force required for our confused pop-it to pop up relatively high? We
thought that the pop-it needed enough force to counteract the gravity, so natural force and a
force push which would propel it into the air.

Materials

- One tape measure

- A Pop it (we used 47 gram one with a confused face)
- One iphone with a working camera to collect data

Procedure

1. Accurately attach a tape measure to the wall

2. In front of the tape measure, one person should sit with your popper and one person
needs to video tape you
3. Push the top of the popper down perpendicular to the ground with both hands
4. Release the popper up, pulling your fingers to the sides
 5. Make sure the popper doesn’t hit anything on the way up, specifically your head
6. Center the camera around 50 cm so the max height of the popper will be accurately
recorded.

Picture of recording Setup:

One person (Lucia) is popping the popper on the ground in front of the blue tape on the wall.
While another person (Sophia) is recording.

Data and Analysis

 Popper lab-Sophia, Cate, Lucia

Error Analysis

The errors that existed in our lab were that different people popped the popper, and therefore
the poppers direction and height were inconsistent. Each person held it a little differently, for
example I held it with two fingers when I pushed it down, and Sohpia held it with two hands. We
also tilted the popper different ways each time we popped it up. To minimize the error, we tried
doing the same person, but the angle when we pushed it down still wasn’t the same. I trust most
of our data, but because of the errors, I don’t think it’s exact.

Conclusion

The goal of this experiment was to apply physics and its equations to real life situations, and
answer the question ‘what is the amount of force required for our confused pop-it to pop up
relatively high and accurately?’. The results that we gathered were that the method we used
was inconsistent, but we were still able to gain information from it, like the highest hieght was
1.63 meters and the force pop to go along with that height was 1.55. Again, I trust this data, but
it could have been more accurate (as I explained in my Error Analysis). I think that some fixes
we could have made to our experiment was that we could have had just one person pop the
pop-it, although that would’ve been less inclusive. I also think we should have communicated
more as to what we were each doing as we popped it so we could all do something similar.
Other than our process, we were able to gather relatively accurate numbers for the amount of
force needed to pop up our pop-it.