Speed and Acceleration Lab - PC\|MAC



Speed and Acceleration Lab

Objective: The student will be able to calculate the acceleration of a car using CPO equipment.

Hypothesis: How will the acceleration of your car change if the angle of the ramp was raised?

How will the acceleration of your car change if the angle of the ramp was lowered?

How will the acceleration of your car change if the angle of the ramp stayed the same

but the weight of the car increased?

Procedure:

1. Set up the CPO assembly with the ramp set at the 5th hole.

2. Attach the photogates at the 3cm and 93cm mark on the ramp.

3. Plug the 3cm photogate into port A on the timer.

4. Plug the 93cm photogate into port B on the timer.

5. Set the timer to “interval”.

6. Push the button to activate Clamp B only (you will see one green light).

7. Release the car from the top of the ramp and record the time that appears on the timer.

8. Repeat for trials 2 and 3 then average your times.

9. Calculate the speed of your car as it passes through photogate B. Record this in your data table. This speed is your final velocity (Vf).

10. Push the button to activate photogate A and photogate B (you will see two green lights).

11. Release the car from the top of the ramp and record the time that appears on the timer.

12. Repeat for trials 2 and 3 then average your times.

13. Calculate the acceleration of your car. Remember initial velocity (Vi) is the car stationary at the top of the ramp.

14. Test the 3 hypotheses you wrote at the beginning of the lab. Use the data tables provided to help you.

Questions:

1. How do the various accelerations compare to each other?

2. Which of the tests is the control?

3. What is the independent variable for each of the other tests?

4. Look at your acceleration for the first test. How long would it take for the car to reach a final velocity of 10 m/s if Vi = 0m/s and it maintained the calculated acceleration?

5. Look at your acceleration for the first test. What would be the final velocity of the car if Vi = 0 m/s and it maintained that acceleration for 3 seconds?

Remember: v = _d_ a = _Vf – Vi_ **Yes, you may write of this (**

t t

Data Tables:

Ramp setting: 5th Hole

|Time |Trial #1 |Trial #2 |Trial #3 |Average Time (s) |

|Clamp B Only | | | | |

|From Clamp A to B | | | | |

|Calculate final velocity (Vf) |Calculate Acceleration (a) | |

|Distance |Avg.Time from Clamp B Only|Final Velocity |Initial Velocity |Avg.Time from Clamp A to B|Acceleration |

| | |(Vf) |(Vi) | | |

|0.05 m |s |m/s |m/s |s |m/s2 |

Ramp setting:______ Hole

|Time |Trial #1 |Trial #2 |Trial #3 |Average Time (s) |

|Clamp B Only | | | | |

|From Clamp A to B | | | | |

|Calculate final velocity (Vf) |Calculate Acceleration (a) | |

|Distance |Avg.Time from Clamp B Only|Final Velocity |Initial Velocity |Avg.Time from Clamp A to B|Acceleration |

| | |(Vf) |(Vi) | | |

|0.05 m |s |m/s |m/s |s |m/s2 |

Ramp setting:______ Hole

|Time |Trial #1 |Trial #2 |Trial #3 |Average Time (s) |

|Clamp B Only | | | | |

|From Clamp A to B | | | | |

|Calculate final velocity (Vf) |Calculate Acceleration (a) | |

|Distance |Avg.Time from Clamp B Only|Final Velocity |Initial Velocity |Avg.Time from Clamp A to B|Acceleration |

| | |(Vf) |(Vi) | | |

|0.05 m |s |m/s |m/s |s |m/s2 |

Ramp setting: 5th Hole w/ Mass

|Time |Trial #1 |Trial #2 |Trial #3 |Average Time (s) |

|Clamp B Only | | | | |

|From Clamp A to B | | | | |

|Calculate final velocity (Vf) |Calculate Acceleration (a) | |

|Distance |Avg.Time from Clamp B Only|Final Velocity |Initial Velocity |Avg.Time from Clamp A to B|Acceleration |

| | |(Vf) |(Vi) | | |

|0.05 m |s |m/s |m/s |s |m/s2 |

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