Levi Anderson-White, Owynn Black, Ahmad West-Bey, Bruk Addis, Musa Abbas

Mr. Keller
Zeta
Friday, Dec 16, 2022

Lab 2: Popper Force

Introduction

In Lab 2: Popper Force, our lab question was “what is the force required to lift an object
to its maximum height?” and “what can change that force?” The objective of Lab 2 was to
discover the force required to lift a popper, to its maximum height. Secondly, we aimed to
change that force in some way without modifying our procedure. In order to calculate our
results, we used a variety of equations. To calculate our velocity for each pop, we used the
2
𝑉𝑝
equation 𝑉𝑝 = 2𝑔(𝑌𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝑌𝑝 , to calculate our acceleration, we used the equation 2𝑌𝑝
= 𝑎,
and to calculate our force pop we used 𝐹𝑝 = 𝑚(𝑔 + 𝑎). Using these equations, and throughout
the entire lab (including this write-up), we met multiple course domains for physics. We
communicated within a scientific framework by writing a formal lab write-up. We designed and
executed an investigation by designing experimental procedures to answer our research
objective and by carefully considering potential sources of error in our experiment. We analyzed
and interpreted data by using appropriate mathematics to analyze data in order to confirm or
debunk our hypothesis and by recognizing patterns, correlations, causes, and effects in order to
determine relationships between variables. We also used mathematical and computational
thinking by identifying and transcribing appropriate physics equations as they apply to a given
situation, identifying and substituting values for individual variables, and using techniques in
algebra, geometry, and trigonometry to solve algebraic equations for desired variables like force
pop, acceleration, and velocity.

Variables

● 𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 0
● 𝑉𝑝 = ?
● 𝑉𝑜 = 0
● 𝑌𝑝 = 𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟
● 𝑌𝑜 = 0
● 𝐴= ?
● 𝑌𝑚𝑎𝑥 = ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠
Hypothesis/Objective

Our hypothesis was that we believed we could reduce the speed of the popper by
stacking another popper on another. We believed this because by stacking another popper, we
added to the weight of the entire “popper” (if we consider every popper stacked as one popper).
We predicted that as we add more weight (more poppers), the height that the entire popper
popped would decrease. For example, we predicted that if you add another popper to the
original popper, the pop with the two stacked poppers would decrease from the original pop with
one popper. We believed this predicted trend would continue when you stack the third popper,
the fourth, and so on. Our main objective was to change the force required to lift the popper in
some way without modifying our original procedure.

Materials

● Three Poppers (each nine centimeters tall)

● One Phone (to record each “pop,” and our procedure)
● One Roll of Measuring Tape (taped vertically to the wall)
● One Small Scale (to weigh our poppers)

Procedure

1. We measured the height of one popper.

2. We went out into the hallway.
3. We placed the popper on the ground while one person prepared to record the pop on
their phone.
4. They began to record.
5. The other person pressed down on the popper, holding the side of it, not the two.
6. Pressing down as hard as possible, they eventually released, quickly removing their
fingers from the popper, and without obstructing its vertical trajectory.
7. The person recording would stop the recording.
8. They would click edit on the top right of their screen.
9. They would scroll frame by frame to see exactly when the popper stopped its upwards
momentum.
10. They would zoom in to see where on the measuring tape the popper stopped.
11. They would put that number into our google sheet, where we would enter all of our data.
12. Steps 3-11 would be completed 4 more times.
13. We stacked another popper on our original popper.
14. We measure the height of the two poppers stacked.
15. We completed steps 2-11 4 more times.
 a.
Bruk holding the side of the popper before
letting go and launching it.
16. We stacked another popper on our two poppers.

a.
Here are the three poppers
are stacked onto each other.
17. Steps 3-11 would be completed 4 more times.

Data and Analysis

Our Data + Calculations:

● To calculate velocity: 𝑉𝑝 = 2𝑔(𝑌𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝑌𝑝

2
𝑉𝑝
● To calculate acceleration: 2𝑌𝑝
=𝑎
● To calculate force pop (N): 𝐹𝑝 = 𝑚(𝑔 + 𝑎)
Average Force Pop (Force Pop 1 = one popper, force pop 2 = 2 poppers, force pop 3 = three
poppers)

Error Analysis

The most persistent error in Lab 2: Popper Force was the inconsistency of measuring how far
the popper was continuing its vertical movement. For example, when we would “edit” the video
to where exactly the popper began to fall downwards due to gravity, we could have, and most
likely did, make an error. We easily could have missed the actual measurement by a couple
centimeters or millimeters. This would change our results when calculating the force pop,
acceleration, and velocity. In order to minimize this potential error, we would always double or
triple-check what measurement we got. Secondly, each member of our group would each get
our own measurements, and then we would compare each of our measurements in order to use
the most accurate one. Although we are aware of the potential errors, we trust our data to be
accurate to the centimeter.

Conclusion

In Lab 2: Popper Force, our lab question was “what is the force required to lift an object
to its maximum height?” and “what can change that force?” The objective of Lab 2: Popper
Force was to discover the force required to lift a popper, to its maximum height. Secondly, we
aimed to change that force in some way without modifying our procedure. After performing our
lab and analyzing our data, we found that the data did not support our hypothesis. Our
hypothesis was that we believed we could reduce the speed and force pop of the popper by
stacking another popper on another. The data showed that by stacking poppers (adding more
weight) did reduce the acceleration and velocity of the popper, but the force pop increased as
we added more weight. Our average force pop increased as we added more weight, and our
average velocity and acceleration decreased as we added more weight. The average force pop
1 was 0.7781886N, for force pop 2 it was 9660114N, for force pop 3, it increased to
1.21046072N. The lab also showed that heavier things have a lower acceleration and lower
velocity. As we added poppers, our average acceleration decreased from 159.73 to 95.42 to
78.416 (m/s/s). Our average velocity decreased from 5.4 to 4.1 to 3.8 (m/s).