1

An Investigation of Damping of Solid Wooden Cylinders of Different Masses When Rolling

Down a Half Pipe

How does the mass of a solid wooden cylinder rolling down a half pipe affect its damping?

Physics

Word Count: 3917

May 2019 Examination Session

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Table of Contents

Research Question .......................................................................................................................... 3  

Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 3  

Background Information ................................................................................................................. 4  

Preliminary Work............................................................................................................................ 6  

Experimental Design ....................................................................................................................... 7  

Safety .............................................................................................................................................. 9  

Collected Data ................................................................................................................................. 9  

Data Analysis ................................................................................................................................ 12  

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 14  

Strengths and Weaknesses ............................................................................................................ 16  

Improvements and Extensions ...................................................................................................... 18  

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 20  

 
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Research Question

When I was younger, my brother and I used to play a Tony Hawk skateboarding video game.

This game got me interested in skateboarding, and I decided to learn skateboarding myself.

When I got to write this paper on any subject, I chose to write about skateboarding. There is a lot

of physics involved in skateboarding, and I decided to focus on a skateboard’s wheels.

Therefore, I chose to investigate the research question, “How does the mass of a solid wooden

cylinder rolling down a half pipe affect its damping?” For this question, I will analyze the

relationship between the mass of the cylinder and its damping. I decided to measure the mass of

five different solid cylinders dropped by hand from 8cm above the bottom of the half pipe. Mass

is the independent variable I used to calculate my dependent variable, the ratio of maximum

rotational kinetic energy conserved in the second half of the fifth cycle to the maximum

rotational kinetic energy in the first half of the first cycle. To calculate the ratio of conserved

kinetic energy, I chose to collect data on the speed of the ball in the first and fifth cycle. This

investigation is under the topic of rotational physics, which is not covered in the regular

curriculum.

Methodology

This paper will first use sources about background information on rotational physics to create a

hypothesis for the research question. An experiment will then be set up, as described in the

“Experimental Design” section, to test this hypothesis. The data collected during the experiment

will be analyzed using the video analysis feature on LoggerPro and a graph will be created to

reach a conclusion. This conclusion will provide an answer to the research question, showing the

validity of the hypothesis and experimental procedure.

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Background Information

For this investigation, the focus under rotational physics is going to be rotational kinetic energy.

Rotational kinetic energy and linear kinetic energy are analogous, but rotational kinetic energy

refers to the kinetic energy of an object caused by its rotational motion in contrast to linear

motion.1 The equation for rotational kinetic energy is given by:

!
𝐾𝐸!"#$#%"&$' = ! 𝐼𝜔! {Equation 1}2

𝐾𝐸=kinetic energy 𝐼=moment of inertia 𝜔=angular velocity

To make this equation in terms of mass, moment of inertia and angular velocity need to be

simplified. The moment of inertia equation below is based on the equation for a solid cylinder:
!
𝐼 = ! 𝑚𝑟 ! {Equation 2}3

𝑚=mass 𝑟=radius

For angular velocity, the equation is:

!
𝜔=! {Equation 3}4

𝑣=linear velocity

Combining the three equations, the rotational kinetic energy equation becomes:

1 1 1 𝑣 1
𝐾𝐸!"#$#%"&$' = 𝐼𝜔! = ( 𝑚𝑟 ! )(  )! = 𝑚𝑣 !
2 2 2 𝑟 4
!
𝐾𝐸!"#$#%"&$' = ! 𝑚𝑣 ! {Equation 4}

In an ideal situation where all energy is conserved, the conservation of energy equation is given

by:
                                                                                                               
1  Rod  Nave,  "Rotational  Kinetic  Energy,"  Hyper  Physics,  accessed  December  23,  2018,  

http://hyperphysics.phy-­‐astr.gsu.edu/hbase/rke.html.  
2  Nave,  "Rotational  Kinetic,"  Hyper  Physics.  
3  "Moment  of  Inertia  for  Uniform  Objects,"  Live  Physics,  accessed  December  23,  2018,  

http://www.livephysics.com/physical-­‐constants/mechanics-­‐pc/moment-­‐inertia-­‐uniform-­‐objects/.  
4  Rod  Nave,  "Basic  Rotational  Quantities,"  Hyper  Physics,  accessed  December  23,  2018,  

http://hyperphysics.phy-­‐astr.gsu.edu/hbase/rotq.html.  
 5

𝑃𝐸!"#$%&' = 𝐾𝐸!"#$%&#!'($#& + 𝐾𝐸!"#$#%"&$' {Equation 5}5

𝑃𝐸!"#$%&' =gravitational potential energy

Simplifying this equation using equation 4 for rotational kinetic energy gives:

1 1
𝑚𝑔ℎ = 𝑚𝑣 ! + 𝑚𝑣 !
2 4
1 1 3
𝑔ℎ = 𝑣 ! + 𝑣 ! = 𝑣 !
2 4 4

!
𝑣= !
𝑔ℎ {Equation 6}6

According to this equation, mass should not affect conservation of energy, but this is the case in

an ideal situation where no energy is lost. Since energy will be lost in this experiment due to

other factors, such as the force of friction, which is affected by mass, this cannot be considered

true. Since the ratio of kinetic energies is being observed, however, the mass should still not

impact the relationship as shown below:

1 ! 1 𝑣! !
𝐾𝐸!"#$% 𝐼! 𝜔! 𝑚𝑟( 𝑟 ) = 𝑣!
=2 =2
𝐾𝐸!"!#!$% 1 𝐼 𝜔 ! 1 𝑣! ! 𝑣!
2 ! ! 2 𝑚𝑟( 𝑟 )

The masses cancel out in the relationship, showing that ideally there should be no

correlation between a change in mass and the ratio of kinetic energy conserved. After

considering the background information, however, as mass increases, the ball’s damping

will reduce due to factors not considered in these energy equations. This is important for

skateboarders, who need to consider conditions, such as the mass of the wheels. Knowing mass’

effect on energy loss can help athletes to predict the movement of the skateboard to perform

better.
                                                                                                               
5  Rod  Nave,  "Hoop  and  Cylinder  Motion,"  Hyper  Physics,  accessed  December  23,  2018,  

http://hyperphysics.phy-­‐astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hoocyl.html.  
6  Nave,  "Hoop  and  Cylinder,"  Hyper  Physics.  
 6

Preliminary Work

Technique to Create Half Pipe: A QUIKRETE 18-inch by 48-inch building form tube was the

best method to create a half pipe after brainstorming various ways to do so. To make the half

pipe, I used a handsaw to cut the tube in half vertically. Since it was hollow on the inside, it was

very similar to the shape of an actual half pipe after being cut. This was the easiest method to

make the half pipe, as it required very little equipment.

Technique to Measure Damping: Rotational kinetic energy could be used to investigate damping.

The maximum velocity would be when the cylinder reaches the bottom of the half pipe the first

time, so this is one of the data points, and the other data point is after five cycles. There is a

considerable decrease in energy after five cycles, but the wait is not too long which ensures that

the final energy is not too close to zero. By deriving the ratio of the rotational kinetic energy

using the velocity data gathered, the energy that is lost can be used to analyze the damping

relationship.

Drop Height of Cylinder: The original plan was to drop the cylinder from the top of the half pipe,

but the cylinder slips from such a high height. At a release height of about 8 centimeters above

the bottom of the half pipe, the cylinder was not excessively slipping, so this was the drop height

for every trial. A drop height of 8cm still allowed the cylinder to have a substantial amount of

distance to roll.
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Experimental Design

Based on preliminary work, the experiment was set up as shown

in “Figure 1.” The half pipe was made from a building form tube,

and it was steadied by placing supports on each side. A phone was

placed on a phone stand on the ground so that it was facing the

half pipe straight on to get accurate videos of the cylinders. The

phone was held in a steady position with the phone stand to

reduce the error in the speed values. A partner helped to collect the data by controlling the

phone. The measuring tape was placed on the ground along the half pipe, so that a scale could be

used on LoggerPro when collecting data from the videos captured on the phone. A piece of tape

was placed on the half pipe to mark the point where the cylinders should be dropped from every

time. This allowed for the cylinders to be dropped from a constant height of about 8 cm above

the ground by giving a point of reference.

The types of material for the cylinder and the half pipe, as well as the drop height of the cylinder,

were kept constant as controlled variables. As discussed in the “Preliminary Work” section, the

drop height of 8cm gave enough distance for the cylinder to roll without allowing for a lot of

slipping to occur. The drop height would not directly affect the loss of kinetic energy analyzed in

the experiment, as it is a ratio of the energy values, so the final kinetic energy is dependent on

the initial kinetic energy. The drop height would, however, affect the cylinder’s rolling motion if

the height is too high or too low. Another factor was the length of the cylinders. The cylinders

were originally about 10cm long, but these did not roll up and down the half pipe in a straight

path – they slid up and down the half pipe lengthwise while moving from side to side. Longer
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cylinders of 51.3cm avoided this problem, so this was the length for all the cylinders. This also

ensured that the same amount of the cylinder was in contact with the half pipe at all times.

LoggerPro used video analysis to collect data on the speeds of the cylinders through the process

of setting an origin, making a scale, and selecting points of the cylinder’s motion on the half

pipe. An example of the LoggerPro graphs created by the video analysis is shown as “Graph 1”.

Graph 1:

The two sections on the “Y Velocity vs.

Time” graph on the bottom that are blocked

off by the black brackets gave the velocities

during the first and fifth cycles. The first

section below the x-axis is the velocity of

the ball during the first cycle, and the other

section above the x-axis is the velocity of

the ball during the fifth cycle. Data recorded on the “min” value of the first section and the

“max” value of the second section gave the required velocities. If there is a loss of energy in one

direction, then there is also going to be a loss of energy in the other direction, since it will not

travel as far in both the x- and y-directions. Therefore, the y-direction was chosen as the focus of

the collected data. Average velocities could be found based on the five trials per level, and these

average speeds helped to calculate the angular velocity. After a few more calculations, a

conclusion could be reached about the relationship between the mass of a cylinder and the ratio

of its loss of kinetic energy.

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The experiment contained 5 levels consisting of 5 trials each for the data. The levels were the

different masses, and 5 levels allowed for a range of levels. The decision to have 5 trials gave a

reasonable amount of trials to get average velocities without having an excessive amount of trials

to the point where there would be no substantial effect on the average velocity.

Safety

All general safety precautions were taken during this lab, but there are no major safety or

environmental concerns in this exploration. Safety glasses were worn when cutting the pipe

using a handsaw.

Collected Data

“Data Table 1” on the next page shows a portion of the raw data that was collected during the

lab. The uncertainty of the triple beam balance used to measure the masses of the cylinders is

±0.05g, half of the smallest increment, as it is an analog device. The lowest increment on the

tape measure used to measure the diameters of the cylinders and drop height at the beginning of

the experiment was 0.1cm. This is also an analog device, so the uncertainty is 0.05cm. The linear

velocity was found digitally using LoggerPro, so the uncertainty is the smallest increment,

making it 0.0001m s-1. The negative signs were taking out when recording velocity values, as

these show direction and are not needed for the energy calculations.
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Data Table 1: Maximum Linear Velocity During First Half of First Cycle of Solid

Wooden Cylinders with Different Masses and Diameters Rolled from 8cm Above

the Bottom of a Half pipe

Maximum Linear Velocity of Cylinder (± 0.0001m s-1)

Mass Diameter
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5
(± 0.05g) (± 0.05cm)

73.90 2.10 0.2316 0.2153 0.2152 0.2103 0.2202

163.80 2.60 0.2093 0.2052 0.2137 0.2353 0.2196

407.70 4.80 0.1879 0.2056 0.1786 0.1946 0.1977

540.00 6.00 0.1779 0.1815 0.1936 0.1946 0.1955

678.90 8.90 0.1735 0.1598 0.1756 0.1722 0.1892

Height of Cylinder: 51.30 ± 0.05cm

“Data Table 2” on the next page has the same values as “Data Table 1” except the velocity

values are those of the speeds during the fifth cycle instead of the first one. The uncertainties for

“Data Table 2” are the same as mentioned for “Data Table 1,” except LoggerPro gave the

velocity data points to one extra decimal place in “Data Table 2,” so the uncertainty for this is

±0.00001 m s-1.
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Data Table 2: Maximum Linear Velocity During Second Half of Fifth Cycle of

Solid Wooden Cylinders with Different Masses and Diameters Rolled from 8cm

Above the Bottom of a Half pipe

Maximum Linear Velocity of Cylinder (± 0.00001m s-1)

Mass Diameter
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5
(± 0.05g) (± 0.05cm)

73.90 2.10 0.01498 0.02062 0.01680 0.01861 0.02520

163.80 2.60 0.02740 0.02661 0.02364 0.02943 0.03007

407.70 4.80 0.03342 0.02942 0.02926 0.02997 0.03279

540.00 6.00 0.02775 0.02097 0.03659 0.03082 0.03027

678.90 8.90 0.05119 0.06068 0.06350 0.04823 0.04805

Height of Cylinder: 51.30 ± 0.05cm

One observation from this experiment was that the cylinder still slipped a bit even with the

precautions taken to avoid this as much as possible. This would have affected the recorded

velocity values of the cylinders, as the force of friction is zero when an object slips. Therefore,

the cylinder would move faster, causing the recorded velocities to be higher than they should.

Another observation was that particles from the wooden cylinder transferred to the half pipe as

trials progressed. This would have the opposite effect of the first observation, as this would have
 12

made the half pipe surface rougher. Therefore, the force of friction would increase, slowing

down the cylinders, and reducing the recorded velocity.

Data Analysis

The research question was “How does the mass of a solid wooden cylinder rolling down a half

pipe affect its damping?” A couple calculations had to be done to get a final value for the ratio of

the loss of rotational kinetic energy. The first part was finding the rotational kinetic energy

during the first and fifth cycle separately. To do this, the moment of inertia and angular velocity

had to be calculated first and then substituted into the rotational kinetic energy equation. For

these calculations, the velocities in the data tables were averaged together using the five trials for

each level. Sample calculations are shown below:

Moment of Inertia

1 1
𝐼 = 𝑚𝑟 ! = (0.16380 ± 0.00005  𝑘𝑔)(0.01300 ± 0.00025  𝑚)!
2 2

𝐼 = 0.0000138 ± 0.0000003  𝑘𝑔 ∙ 𝑚!

Angular Velocity

𝑣 0.217 ± 0.015𝑚𝑠 !!
𝜔= = = 16.7 ± 1.5  𝑟𝑎𝑑  𝑠 !!
𝑟 0.01300 ± 0.00025𝑚

Rotational Kinetic Energy

1 1
𝐾𝐸!"#$#%"&$' = 𝐼𝜔! = (0.0000138 ± 0.0000003  𝑘𝑔 ∙ 𝑚! )(16.7 ± 1.5  𝑟𝑎𝑑  𝑠 !! )!
2 2

𝐾𝐸!"#$#%"&$' = 0.00192 ± 0.00018𝐽

This sample calculation was done for the second level from “Data Table 1,” and this has to be

compared to the second level of “Data Table 2.” The rotational kinetic energy calculated from
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“Data Table 2” was 0.000031±0.000005J. A sample calculation for the ratio of these two values

is shown below:

𝐾𝐸!"#$#%"&$'! 0.000031 ± 0.000005J

= = 0.008 ± 0.003
𝐾𝐸!"#$#%"&$'! 0.00192 ± 0.00018𝐽

The calculated values for mass and ratio of conserved rotational kinetic energy of the cylinders

are shown in the results table below for all five levels. The uncertainties of the ratio of kinetic

energy is not constant for all the levels, as the average speed values and their uncertainties are

different for each level. This causes the percent uncertainties to vary, making the absolute

uncertainties different.

Results Table 1: Relationship Between Mass of a Solid Wooden

Cylinder and the Ratio of Conserved Rotational Kinetic Energy

Ratio of Conserved Rotational

Mass (± 0.00005m)
Kinetic Energy

0.07390 0.008 ± 0.003

0.16380 0.016 ± 0.004

0.40770 0.026 ± 0.004

0.54000 0.024 ± 0.008

0.67890 0.10 ± 0.02

The graphical representation of the relationship between the mass of the cylinder and its

conserved energy after five cycles is shown in “Graph 2” on the next page.
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Graph 2:

The error bars for mass are too small to be seen.

The graph shows a directly proportional relationship, since the best-fit curve is a straight line

with a positive slope, and the origin is included in the range of the max and min lines. The

uncertainty of the slope found from the max and min lines is calculated below:

0.1637 − (0.08865)
∆𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 = = 0.037525  𝑘𝑔!!
2

𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 = 0.17 ± 0.04𝑘𝑔!!

The slope represents the ratio of conserved kinetic energy per one kilogram change in mass.

Therefore, for each increase in one kilogram, the cylinder conserves 17% more of its kinetic

energy.

 
Conclusion

The research question was “How does the mass of a solid wooden cylinder rolling down a half

pipe affect its damping?” The original hypothesis was “The masses cancel out in the relationship,
 15

showing that ideally there should be no correlation between a change in mass and the ratio of

kinetic energy conserved. After considering the background information, however, as mass

increases, the ball’s damping will reduce due to factors not considered in these energy

equations.” The experiment shows that mass and the ratio of conserved rotational kinetic energy

have a directly proportional relationship. “Graph 2” shows this relationship, as the best-fit curve

is an upward-sloping straight line. Since more energy is conserved with a larger mass, this means

that there is less energy lost. Therefore, as mass increases, the damping of the energy of the

cylinders is reduced.

According to the equation for rotational kinetic energy found online, mass should not have an

effect on the ratio of the energy that is conserved as the cylinder moves on the half pipe, since

the masses cancel out in the conservation of energy equation7:

1 ! 1 𝑣! !
𝐾𝐸!"#$% 𝐼! 𝜔! 𝑚𝑟( 𝑟 ) = 𝑣!
=2 =2
𝐾𝐸!"!#!$% 1 𝐼 𝜔 ! 1 𝑣! ! 𝑣!
2 ! ! 2 𝑚𝑟( 𝑟 )

As seen from the process above, mass does not affect the ratio of conserved energy, and

therefore, should not affect the damping relationship in an ideal situation. Therefore, the results

from the experiment disagree with the results based on this equation, as the online findings show

that there should be no correlation while the experiment found a directly proportional

relationship. There are other factors that could have caused this relationship in the experiment,

however, such as resistive forces. A resistive force that would play a role in this experiment is

rolling friction. Forces are not considered in the kinetic energy equation, so it makes sense that

according to the online source, it would seem that mass has no effect on the rotational kinetic

                                                                                                               
7  Nave,  "Rotational  Kinetic,"  Hyper  Physics.
 16

energy that is conserved. Forces are affected by mass, however, as force is the product of mass

and acceleration, so the change in mass that would affect the resistive forces explains the

relationship found in the experiment even though it disagrees with the equation found online.

Other factors that could have also contributed to the results found in the experiment are wind

resistance and the change in radius of the cylinders between levels, since radius is part of the

rotational kinetic energy equation.

Strengths and Weaknesses

One random error that may have occurred during the trials is a slight change in drop height. Even

though a mark was made with tape as a reference point for the drop height, it could have very

easily been moved a little bit from the tape. This would have affected the individual velocities

that were obtained from the video analysis. It would not have had any effect on the ratio of

conserved energy, as the final velocity depends on the initial velocity, but the impact on

individual velocities would have affected the uncertainty for the average velocities and possibly

made it larger. This would have made the overall uncertainty of the slope larger. A systematic

error that occurred in the experiment was the increase in particles from the wooden cylinders

falling on the half pipe over the trials of each level. Like stated in the observations, this would

have increased the friction between the cylinders and half pipe, as the surface would be rougher.

This would have once again affected the velocities by making them lower than they should be,

since the force of friction would cause the cylinders to slow down at a faster rate. Lower

velocities would mean lower calculated values of angular velocity and moment of inertia, which

would ultimately cause the rotational kinetic energies to be lower than they should theoretically.

Similar to the random error, the ratio of conserved kinetic energy would not be impacted, but the
 17

uncertainties would be. Another systematic error is the slipping of the cylinder as it moved on

the half pipe. Slipping will have the opposite effect of the first systematic error that is stated,

because the force of friction becomes zero during slipping. This would increase the velocities,

increasing the rotational kinetic energies. Once again, uncertainties would be impacted, not the

ratio.

The range of the data was reasonable, as the levels were spaced out to the maximum possible

values that they could be with the available resources. If the equipment were available, it would

have been helpful to have levels with masses that were spaced out more evenly, but there was

only access to a limited variety of cylinders. The quantity of the data was decent, as there were

five levels with five trials. This quantity is reasonable, because of the available resources. Also,

more trials per level would not have greatly impacted the average velocities, so five trials was

sufficient. The data is not extremely reliable, as the radius was changing along with the mass

throughout the levels, and since radius is part of the rotational kinetic energy equation, this

would have affected the calculations.

A strength of the experiment is the type of cylinders used to gather data. The use of a solid

wooden cylinder for the experiment made it easier to gather data, as it rolled smoothly on the

half pipe and it was easy to track the cylinder on video analysis. Also, the cylinders could all be

cut to the same height and it was easy to make them longer to avoid as much slipping, since this

would have skewed the data.

 18

A weakness in the experiment was the change in radius between levels. Since radius is part of the

equation to calculate rotational kinetic energy, this should have been kept constant to truly

analyze the relationship between mass and the ratio of conserved energy. With the available

resources, however, it was difficult to keep the radius constant for all the levels. The length of

the cylinder was kept constant in order to keep the contact surface area between the cylinder and

half pipe constant. Therefore, the radii of the cylinders changed when the mass was changed.

Another weakness of the experiment is the reliance on a hand to drop the cylinder. This

increased the possible inaccuracy of the data due to the increased possibility of human error,

which would have affected the recorded velocities.

Improvements and Extensions

One improvement that could be made to the experiment is using tongs to release the cylinders,

decreasing the possibility of human error. The tongs could be attached to the half pipe in one

position using a clamp to make sure that the cylinders are always released from the same

position. This change would increase the consistency of the drop height, which would decrease

the uncertainty of the ratio of conserved kinetic energy. Another modification that could be made

is considering slipping in the calculations. There was some slipping as the cylinders rolled down

the half pipe even though adjustments were made to the experiment to reduce the slipping as

much as possible. This consideration was out of the scope of this paper, but this improvement

would probably slightly affect the values obtained from video analysis and make them more

accurate, giving a more accurate representation of the relationship that is being investigated.
 19

An extension of this lab is to use different materials to analyze the same relationship that was

investigated in this experiment. The experimental design and procedure would be the same with

the only change being the material. The results from experiments with different materials can be

compared to each other to reach new conclusions. Another extension is to explore the

relationship between rolling friction and the ratio of conserved kinetic energy. This is an

extension, as the independent variable changes from mass to the frictional force acting on the

cylinder. For this extension, the mass of the ball would still be changing, but this would be used

to calculate the frictional force as the independent variable. The procedure would be the same

except the radius should be kept constant as learned through this experiment.
 20

Bibliography

"Moment of Inertia for Uniform Objects." Live Physics. Accessed December 23, 2018.
http://www.livephysics.com/physical-constants/mechanics-pc/moment-inertia-uniform-
objects/.  
 
Nave, Rod. "Basic Rotational Quantities." Hyper Physics. Accessed December 23, 2018.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/rotq.html.  
 
———. "Hoop and Cylinder Motion." Hyper Physics. Accessed December 23, 2018.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hoocyl.html.  
 
———. "Rotational Kinetic Energy." Hyper Physics. Accessed December 23, 2018.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/rke.html.