Blake

Purpose: ​To investigate the speed at which objects fall and to determine your reaction time
using the acceleration due to gravity

Materials:
● Table edge
● Meter stick

Procedure:
1. Place your RIGHT hand on the edge of a table with the fingers and thumb sticking out over
the edge.
2. Open your fingers so they are 10 cm away from your thumb.
3. Have a partner hold a ruler even with the top of your fingers and thumb. The zero mark on the
ruler should be closest to the floor.
NO WARNING OR CLUES
4. As fast as possible, catch the ruler when your partner lets it drop.
5. Repeat four times and record the number showing above your finger and thumb.
6. Repeat the testing and recording using your LEFT hand.
WARNING OR CLUES GIVEN
7. Get your RIGHT hand ready to catch the ruler.
8. Have a partner hold a ruler even with the top of your fingers and thumb.
9. Your partner counts to three then lets the ruler drop on THREE.
10. As fast as possible, catch the ruler when your partner lets it drop.
11. Repeat four times and record the number showing above your finger and thumb.
12. Repeat the testing and recording using your LEFT hand. Results Centimeter Reading Above
the Thumb

​Data:
Type of Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Drop Reaction
Drop Distance Time (s)
(cm)

Right Hand 26 cm 24 cm 17 cm 19 cm 21.5 cm 0.21 s

– No
Warning

Left Hand 25 cm 24 cm 21 cm 24 cm 23.5 cm 0.22 s

– No
Warning
 Right Hand 10 cm 6 cm 15 cm 14 cm 11.25 cm 0.15 s
– With
Warning

Left Hand – 15 cm 19 cm 30 cm 12 cm 19 cm 0.20 s

With
Warning

Calculations/Results:
To calculate the reaction time:
(Reaction Time)​2​ = (2 * Drop distance) / 981 cm/s2
Error:
Results are as expected. Both with and without warning, the right hand’s reaction time was
faster, which is to be expected seeing that the student’s dominant hand was right. For both
hands, reaction time was faster with a warning, which is also to be expected.
Possible human error includes lack of precision with meter stick’s initial position. The initial
position should have been measured exactly the same distance from the hand every trial, for
more accurate results. Other possible human error includes the lag time between countdown
(for warning trials) and actual release of meter stick. This inconsistency could result in an
inaccurate meter stick readings.

Questions:
1. Why is 981 cm/s^2 used in the calculations (hint: think in terms of gravity).

This is the unit for acceleration due to gravity. This is how fast the meter stick was falling
between release and being caught. Usually, we see this unit written as 9.8 m/s, but since our
drop distance is recorded in cm, we converted it to cm/s^2.

2. What was your best average reaction time?

Our best average reaction time was 0.15s, which was calculated with right hand- warning.

3. What was your worst average reaction time?

Our worst average reaction time was 0.22s, which was calculated with left hand- no warning.

4. Explain how you could improve your reaction time?

We could improve our reaction time by being more precise with our countdown and release of
the meter stick. If these two things happened consistently at the exact same time, there should
be hardly any reaction time at all. Since we started the meter stick at 0cm=top of hand (for
easier calculations), sometimes a fast reaction time would result in the meter stick falling out of
the hand. With a short reaction time, the meter stick would be very top heavy, so starting with
the meter stick at say, 20 cm, would allow for less error (despite the additional calculations).

5. How would this experiment differ if it was conducted on the moon?

The meter stick would not fall with less acceleration, because there is no gravity on the moon!
Therefore, the calculation for reaction time would have to be modified for the the acceleration
due to gravity on the moon, rather than on the earth, which is ​1.620 m/s^2.

Conclusions:
This lab was very helpful for understanding the importance of acceleration due to gravity, tying
in concepts students will be learning about in the classroom. The discussion questions provide
for a more thorough comprehension of concepts, for instance, having the students think critically
about ​how a ​ nd ​why ​this lab would differ if conducted in a place other than Earth. By completing
this lab, students gain understanding of factors affecting reaction times, such as reaction time
decreasing when given warning. Of the average reaction times in this lab, planned reactions
(with warnings) were always faster than no warning. This lab further demonstrates that dominant
hands have faster reaction times than nondominant hands. These results provide valid data, as
4 trials were conducted. However for data to be analyzed for greatest accuracy, it is necessary
and would have been helpful to compare data for consistency or reliability among other groups’
results.