Aim : To determine the statistical value of acceleration due to gravity of planet earth.

Theory

freefall, in mechanics, state of a body that moves freely in any manner in the presence of gravity
(According to encyclopedia brittanica). A physical solution for free fall may be obtained by taking into
account the dependence of mass on velocity in Newton's gravitational law as adopted in the physics of
accelerators (Retrieved from Research gate). The attraction force due to earth gravity is nearly constant
near the earth surface. This means, following Newton’s second law, that the motion of falling object is
uniformly accelerated. From the Kinematics of such motion the velocity of a particle in transit with
constant acceleration, say g, increases linearly with time (Serway & Jewett, 2010; Young & Freedman,
2020). The variable relationship of time t, final velocity v, and initial velocity v o, is given in equation 1
below.

V= vo + gt (1). (1)

Where vo = 0 at t = 0, The distance covered by the object in time is

ℎ = ℎo + vot + gt/2. (2)

Before the object drops to the ground the initial velocity is 0 and so does the reference height

ℎo. On dropping the equation (2) reduces to equation (3) below to describe the particle’s

displacement through height h in time t.

h = gt²/2 (3)

When h is plotted as a function of t² the result is a straight line. From the slope, g can be found. The mass
of the ball doesn’t occur in the formula at all. This expresses that heavy and light object fall equally fast
in the gravitational field (as long as air drag can be ignored) (Giancoli,2013).

Apparatus

The following are pieces of apparatus to be used in this experiment. Please take note of every detail (e.g.
number of pieces).

Pieces of apparatus Quantity

Retort stand 1

Digital Timer (with power code) 1

Electromagnetic contact (Magnetic coil) 1

Gate (break switch) 1

Connecting leads 4

Ruler (1m) 1

Meter ball 1

Procedure

Working principle of the free fall

A metal ball is held by a magnet and creates electric contact between the two connectors in the magnetic
coil at the top. When the magnet is suddenly removed the ball drops which starts the timer. The ball hits
the plate at the bottom which sends a stop pulse to the timer. The path length of the free fall is measured
by a ruler or a tape measure. The setup of this experiment should be as shown below. Have this checked

by your supervisor (If already set please proceed to step one).

 1. The circuit on the digital timer (The ON switch is coded red in color) was powered ON. The display
was able to show some number i.e. 0.00. If not 0.00 the black reset button was pressed once).

2. The electromagnet was activated by using the silver knob on the digital timer. This made the metal
attached to the magnetic coil to become magnetized.

3. Then a metal ball was attached to the metal below the coil. It was able to get hold without dropping.

4. The metal ball was aligned directly perpendicular to the silver gate door.

5. The metal ball was dropped by turning the silver knob on the timer towards the “demagnetize” side.
The time counted the time it took the ball to reach the gate door was observed. This far it was known that
the circuit was working

6. The above steps (2), (3) and (5) for the vertical distances as indicated in the table of Result were
repeated.

Results.

Height (cm) Time t (s) Average time t(s)

t1 t2 t3 tm (s)

20 0.204 0.203 0.204 0.204

30 0.246 0.245 0.247 0.246

40 0.286 0.286 0.286 0.286

50 0.319 0.318 0.319 0.319

60 0.347 0.348 0.348 0.348

Height(m) Time t (s) Average time t(s) t²

 t1 t2 t3 tm (s)

0.2 0.204 0.203 0.204 0.204 0.04

0.3 0.246 0.245 0.247 0.246 0.06

0.4 0.286 0.286 0.286 0.286 0.08

0.5 0.319 0.318 0.319 0.319 0.10

0.6 0.347 0.348 0.348 0.348 0.12

Discussion

With respect to the results above, a straight line graph is obtained. This means that, as the height at
which the metal ball was positioned increased, the time taken for a metal ball to hit the trap door also
increased. In other ways, this showed that the distance covered by an object falling freely under gravity
is directly proportional to the square of time. After repeating the three trials on each height, a slight
change in the time taken for a ball to reach the trap door was observed. This was mainly due to
experimental errors that may have existed when conducting the experiment. The slope of the graph
obtained indicates the quantitative value of acceleration due to gravity g. This constant g from the slope
of the parabola on the graph was determined by the formula below.

g = 2h/t²

Substituting in the formula with the values obtained on each height, the constant g is obtained as
follows:
When h =20 cm (0.2 m) and t² = 0.04s

= 2(0.2)/0.04s

=0.4/0.04

= 10 m/s²

When h = 30 cm (0.3 m) and t = 0.06

g = 2(0.3)/0.06

g = 0.6/0.06

g = 10m/s²

When h= 40 cm (0.4 m) and t = 0.08s

g= 2(0.4)/0.08

g = 10m/s²

When h =50 cm (0.5 m) and t = 0.10s

g= 2(0.5)/0.10

g = 10m/s²

When h =60 cm (0.6 m) and t = 0.06

g = 2(0.6)/0.12

g =10m/s²

Conclusion

In this experiment, it can be concluded that the value of g obtained at each height is constant. This tells
us that regardless of the height, weight and size of an object, the value of acceleration does not change.
Any object under free fall, will always fall with the same acceleration provided there is no air resistance.

Recommendation

There was a delay in releasing the ball bearing due to residential magnetism in the electromagnet. This
can be reduced by arranging that the metal ball is held only weakly by the electromagnet to start with.
This can be done by reducing the magnetic current to the minimum that will hold the bearing slightly.

APPENDEX

Gradient (slope)

REFRERNCES

Young, H., & Freedman, R. (2020). University Physics with Modern Physics (15th Edit). Pearson
Education Inc.

, R. ., & Jewett, J. (2010). Physics for Scientists and Engineers (8th Edition). Brooks/Cole Publishing Co.

Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/science/freefall-physics

Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312118218_Free_Fall_in_Gravitational_Theory