Car Acceleration Lab

By:Maria Tammaro

Question
At what rate does a car slow down once
force stops being applied?

Hypothesis
If force stops being applied to the car then
the car would decrease at a constant speed.

Materials
-car
-provider of constant force
-stopwatch
-meter stick

Procedure
Step 1: First start with measuring one tile. Use the
measurement of one tile and multiply by the amount using
for experiment (we used 5 tiles first).
Step 2: Mark the tile wanted for the stopping point.
Step 3: Put the car at the starting line, push, and time it
until it reaches the end point with a stopwatch.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each tile measurement run.

Acceleration Table
Distance
(cm)

Time
(sec)

Distance
(cm)

Time
(sec)

Distance
(cm)

Time
(sec)

152.25

1.33

304.5

2.46

456.75

3.03

152.25

1.09

304.5

2.52

456.75

3.16

152.25

1.22

304.5

2.26

456.75

3.20

152.25

1.12

304.5

2.38

456.75

3.46

152.25

1.16

304.5

2.66

456.75

3.27

Avg.=1.18

Avg.=2.46

Avg.=3.22

Conclusion
Find if the rate a car slows down is constant. Our data
refutes the hypothesis as the speeds were all around the
same or higher. Whether the hypothesis is true or not is
still unknown due to the data being too unreliable. Rather
than slowing down the data shows an increase in speed
instead of slowing down. This lab could be improved by
using a ramp rather than doing it manually, so that the force
will be constant. Also, the data would be more conclusive if
a larger distance was used.