Measurement of Free

Measurement of Free-Fall Acceleration EssayIntroductionGalileo Galilei (1564-1642), the man first accredited with the flush notion of free-fall with uniform acceleration, stated that if one were to remove entirely the resistance of the medium, all materials would descend with equal speed. Today, this statement holds true for all objects in free-fall pricey the Earths surface. The purpose of this experiment is to verify Galileos assertion that acceleration is constant. In addition, the magnitude of acceleration will be calculated.TheoryBy definition, acceleration is the rate of salmagundi of velocity with respect to time. Instantaneous acceleration is the derivative of velocity with respect to time.a(t) = dv / dt.Average acceleration is the change in velocity during a time interval, Dt, shared out by the length of that interval,aave = Dv / Dt.In this experiment, average acceleration of gravity will be determined by measuring the change in position of a falling object at regul arly timed intervals. With this, average velocities for these intervals will be calculated. A graph of the average velocities versus time should give a instantly line whose slope is the acceleration of gravity (g).ApparatusTo determine the acceleration of gravity the Behr apparatus will be used. The device consists of two vertical conducting wires, a thin strip of paper heldbetween them, and a metal- build upd incubus designed to fall between the wires along the length of the paper strip. A spark timekeeper transmits a high voltage electric pulse to the wires approximately 60 times a second. Every time a pulse is transmitted, two chief(prenominal) sparks flow through the system. One spark passes from one wire to the metal girdle around the lean. The second spark causes a small burn in the paper, marking the location of the weight at that instant.ProcedureTurn on the electromagnetic power supply and suspend the weight from the end of it. Confirm that the weight falls smoothly int o the cup at the base of the apparatus when the electromagnet switch is turned off. Run this test run about three or intravenous feeding times before you continue. Next, draw a fresh strip of paper from the base of the device and clamp it in place. Turn on the electromagnet, and suspend the weight at the end of the magnet. Hold down the spark switch, and then immediately turn off the eleectromagnet power supply.The weight should fall down to the base of the apparatus, cause sparks to pass between the two wires and itself. Turn off the power to the spark timer and inspect the paper strip. A series of burns should be seeable along the length of the paper. Remove the paper strip from the apparatus and immediately mark the spots with a pen or pencil to see them more than clearly.Data and ResultsThe following table shows the data calculated for the experiment. The spots found on the paper strip are shown as (n). The distance of the metal girdle along the strip is denoted by (x). Velo city is (v) and acceleration is (a). The estimated time (Dt) for this test was 60.2 0.7s-1.Calculations of distance, velocity, and acceleration of metal girdle.n x n (cm) xn+1 x n (cm) xn+1 x n / Dt = v n (cm/s) vn+1 v n (cm/s) vn+1 v n / Dt = a (cm/s2)1 0.002 0.70 0.70 .02 42.1 23 1.43 0.73 .04 43.9 3 1.8 5 108 3024 2.43 1.00 .04 60.2 3 16.3 6 981 3735 3.72 1.29 .04 77.7 3 17.5 6 1054 3736 5.27 1.55 .04 93.3 3 15.6 6 939 3727 7.07 1.80 .04 108.4 4 15.1 7 909 4328 9.16 2.09 .04 125.8 4 17.4 8 1047 4949 11.5 2.32 .04 139.7 4 13.9 8 837 49110 14.1 2.61 .04 157.1 4 17.4 8 1047 49411 17.0 2.90 .04 174.6 4 17.5 8 1054 49412 20.1 3.15 .04 189.6 5 15.0 9 903 55213 23.6 3.45 .04 207.7 5 18.1 10 1090 61514 27.2 3.65 .04 219.7 5 12.0 10 722 61015 31.2 3.98 .04 239.6 5 19.9 10 1198 61616 35.4 4.20 .04 252.8 5 13.2 10 795 61117 39.9 4.52 .04 272.1 6 19.3 11 1162 67618 44.7 4.72 .04 284.1 6 12.0 12 722 73119 49.7 5.00 .04 30 1.0 6 16.9 12 1017 73420 55.0 5.33 .04 320.9 6 19.9 12 1198 73621 60.6 5.60 .04 337.1 6 16.2 12 975 73422 66.5 5.87 .04 353.4 7 16.3 13 981 79423 72.5 6.07 .04 365.4 7 12.0 14 722 85124 78.9 6.35 .04 382.3 7 16.9 14 1017 85525 85.8 6.68 .04 402.1 7 19.8 14 1192 85726 92.7 6.93 .04 417.2 7 15.1 14 909 85327 99.9 7.15 .04 430.4 7 13.2 14 795 85228 107.4 7.46 .04 449.1 8 18.7 15 1126 91629 115.0 7.74 .04 465.9 8 16.8 16 1011 97530 123.1 8.01 .04 482.2 8 16.3 16 981 97531 131.1 8.20 .04 493.6 8 11.4 16 686 97132 139.9 8.55 .04 515.0 8 21.4 16 1288 97833 148.7 8.80 .04 530.0 9 15.0 18 903 1034aAVE = 9.47 .69 m/s2 s = 9.47 .78 m/s2 slope (m) of graph = 8.9ConclusionsThe average value of acceleration for each time interval is contiguous to the desired value of 9.8 m/s2 than the calculated slope of the velocity-time graph. The average of uncertainties for the calculated accelerations is a better as choice of unbelief because it provides a narrower field of uncertainty than does standard deviation. In conclusion, the calculated value of 9.47 .69 m/s2 for acceleration is acceptable.