Farida Afify 12B

Physics IA
Investigating Parabolic Motion
Farida Afify 12b
Farida Afify 12B

Aim:
To calculate the initial horizontal take-off velocity of an object that is
allowed to fall after being released from a ramp and by observing
how a change in the horizontal distance will affect the vertical
distance.

Hypothesis:
In this experiment distance and time a directly proportional to each
other as the velocity acts as a constant. So as the horizontal distance
increase the vertical distance will also increase (distance traveled by
the marble), however the initial velocity will remain constant
throughout the experiment.

Variables:
Independent variable: Horizontal distance, cm
Dependent variable: Vertical distance, cm
Constant variables:
 The vertical height of the ramp, cm
 The horizontal component of the ramp, cm
 Mass of the marble, g
 Height of the board, cm
 Acceleration due to gravity, ms-2
 Initial velocity, ms-1

Apparatus:
 Plastic ramp
 Carbon paper
 Stand and clamp
 White paper
h= vertical height for the
 1m Ruler ball to be dropped.
 Wooden board ux= initial horizontal
velocity.
 Marble uy= initial vertical
 Tape velocity.
ax= initial horizontal
acceleration.
ay= initial vertical
acceleration.
sx= horizontal distance.
sy= vertical distance.

https://www.patana.ac.th/secondary/science/
anrophysics/ntopic2/resources/Projectile
%20motion%20(DCP%20CE)_files/image001.gif
Farida Afify 12B

Procedure:
1. Set up the apparatus as shown in the diagram, using the stand
and clamp to hold the ramp and wooden board in place.
2. Stick the white paper on the wooden board, then stick the
carbon paper on top of the white paper using tape.

Vertical distance (m)

Horizontal
distance (m) Average Uncertainty
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3
(m) (±m)
0.106 0.021 0.022 0.019 0.021 ±0.050
0.171 0.054 0.057 0.059 0.057 ±0.130
0.257 0.132 0.128 0.131 0.130 ±0.100
0.334 0.196 0.189 0.201 0.195 ±0.100
0.357 0.213 0.219 0.209 0.214 ±0.110
0.388 0.269 0.267 0.264 0.267 ±0.100
3. Place the wooden board perpendicular to the ground using a
stand and clamp. Using the 1m-ruler measure the vertical
distance of the ramp, the horizontal length of the ramp and the
height of the wooden board.
4. After the apparatus has been set, release the ball from the top
of the ramp (height h), wait till the marble leaves a mark on the
white paper with the carbon fiber placed on top. For each
horizontal distance repeat the experiment 3 times to increase
reliability.
5. Vary the horizontal distance while keeping the vertical height
of the ramp constant and record the different measurement.
6. After taking 6 measurements, remove the carbon paper and
analyze the results obtained.

Results:
Farida Afify 12B

Vertical Distance vs Horizontal Distance

0.450
0.400
Vertical Distance (M)

0.350
0.300
0.250
0.200
0.150
0.100
0.050
0.000
0.000 0.050 0.100 0.150 0.200 0.250 0.300
Horizontal Distance (m)

Calculations:
Using the equation, t= 2d/g the time taken for an object to fall can
be calculated for each point, we can then use v= d/t to calculate the
initial take-off velocity for each point.
Time (s) Initial Velocity
Example, t=2x0.021/9.81= 0.065 0.065 1.633
V= 0.106/0.065 = 1.633 0.107 1.591
0.163 1.577
Average initial velocity= 0.200 1.674
(1.633+1.591+577+1.674+1.710+1.664)= 0.209 1.710
1.64 0.233 1.664

Analysis:
The initial take-off velocity values calculated can be evaluated against
the accepted which is found by the formula mgh= 1/2mv2.
Since mass shows on both sides of this equation it can be cancelled
out, which gives us, gh= 1/2v2. Now we just have to re-arrange the
formula in terms of velocity, v=2gh. Finally, velocity=
2x9.81x0.147 =v = 1.70 ms-1
To measure the percentage error simply subtract the obtained value
from the accepted value, divide it by the accepted value then multiply
that by one hundred. Percentage error= (1.70-1.64)/1.70 x 100=
3.45%.
Farida Afify 12B

Evaluation:
As the horizontal distance was increased the vertical distance also
increased at a constant rate. The line of best-fit shows the results are
linear due to the distances being directly proportional to each other.
fuck

The error bars have an approximate value of ±1.6% which is a very

small value proving that our results were reasonably accurate.
However there were two types of errors in the experiment, random
errors and systematic errors.
Random errors:
 Reading errors
 Equipment errors
Systematic errors:
 Friction
 External effects on the experiment
In conclusion, I was able to calculate the initial velocity using the
results I obtained during the experiment. However there was a
3.45% error, which caused my results to be slightly inaccurate. Some
of the errors were quantifiable but others weren’t, some of these
errors are mentioned above and they may have affected the results.
The conservation of energy formula, mgh= 1/2mv2 was used to
calculate the value of the initial velocity which gave me a value of
1.64 ms-1. There may have also been some systematic errors in the
experiment, which were shown on the graph, as the line did not pass
through the origin. Altogether, these errors contributed to the
difference between the velocity calculated from the results attained
in the experiment and the velocity found from the formula.