Logarithmic Transformation

Peter and Mary are doing an experiment. Peter drops a ball vertically from different heights
(h m) of a building and Mary records the time taken (t s) for the ball to reach the ground. The
results are recorded in this table.

h (m) 7 15 24 31 42 61 72
t (s) 1.2 1.7 2.2 2.5 2.9 3.5 3.8

Step 1: Plot h against t on the graph paper below.

h (m)

10

1 t (s)

It does not look like a straight line, right?

Step 2: Take logarithm on the values of h and t and fill in this table.
h (m) 7 15 24 30 42 60 72
t (s) 1.2 1.7 2.2 2.5 2.9 3.5 3.8
log h 0.845
log t 0.0791

Step 3: Plot log h against log t on the graph paper below.

log h

1.0

0.8

0.1 log t

Step 4: Slide a ruler until we find the ‘line of best fit’. Notice that this straight line does not
have to pass through all the points. Extend the straight line so that it cut the log h-axis. The
line passes through two points ( ______, ______ ) and ( ______, ______ )

Step 5: The slope of the straight line =

The (log h)-intercept of the straight line =

The equation of the straight line is: