Nina Harris

Mr. Keller
Delta
12/16/22

Popper Lab Report

Introduction

The purpose of this lab is to see if the surface of the launch could change the height of the
popper. We did this by originally launching the popper on the ground then adding 15 rubber
bands and finally adding 25 rubber bands. We signified scientific framework by framing a clear
and meaningful objective. (Will the height of the popper change if we change the surface?) We
designed and executed investigations by controlling our variables. (Changing the surface,
making a barrier to keep the rubber bands in the area.) We analyzed and interpreted data by
observing the heights of the popper in relation to the rubber bands,and recognizing the errors
that were in our lab.
The lab question was how high will your popper pop. The equations we used were
𝑉² = 𝑉𝑜² + 2𝑎(𝑋 − 𝑌𝑜) and Σ𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎.

Variables

Our independent variable was the surface we popped off of. The dependent variable was how
high our popper popped. Our constants were the measuring tape and our technique for how to
pop the popper.

Hypothesis/Objective

We hypothesized that when rubber bands were added the popper would launch more slowly
and not jump as high.

Material

- One popper
- Measuring tape
- First time with support under the popper we used 15 rubber bands, second time with
support under the popper we used 25 rubber bands.
- Paper for a border so our rubberbands wouldn’t go all over the place

Procedure

1. Set up our surface for the popper

 2. Push down on the popper from the sides
3. Release the popper
4. Measure how high the popper jumps
5. Record the measurement in the spreadsheet

This shows how everything’s set up with a border around the rubber bands, so they’d be piled
on top of each other so our final answer would be more accurate.

Data and Analysis

Our original force pop was greater than the other two. The second force pop was greater than
the last one but not as great as the first one. The third and final force pop was the least
powerful.

The higher the force pop went the more acceleration there was. The acceleration was greatest
on our first attempt when the force pop was the highest. The acceleration was a tiny bit less on
the second attempt when the force pop was a tiny but lower. The acceleration was the least on
the third attempt when the force pop was the least.

Error Analysis

In our lab we made a lot of errors. One of those errors could have been not holding the popper
the same way every single time. Another error was somewhat guessing how high the popper
jumped when it went a tiny bit out of frame of the video. Another error was not jotting down the
first five we recorded. We would record it, think it wasn’t good enough and then delete it again.
All of this affects the data because the amount of pop can change depending on where your
hand is, guessing isn’t precise so we can’t say if it’s completely true data, and we were
searching for the first five recorded whereas our data ranges from the first record to the twenty
fifth recorded. I don’t trust the data because I know there were so many errors that can easily
mess up our data. The error was minimized by us reading what we were supposed to do before
doing the lab and we would take a moment before letting go of the popper to try to get
everything in the right position.

Conclusion

Our final result was that when we added 15 rubber bands to the base the height the popper
went decreased and when we added 10 more rubber bands, in total 25 rubber bands the height
the popper went decreased even more. The goal of this lab was to add something on the base
to see if your popper would jump higher or lower than how it originally did with nothing on the
base. Our hypothesis was that when we would add rubber bands the popper would launch
slower and not go as high. Our data analysis shows that the first force pop was the highest.
That was the attempt with nothing on the base. Then the second force pop decreased. That was
the attempt with 15 rubber bands on the base. Finally the third force pop decreased even more.
That was the attempt with 25 rubber bands on the base. In the end we saw that as we added
rubber bands the height the popper went decreased.