PHYSICS 111 Experiment #5 Acceleration Due to Gravity

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OBJECTIVE:
To determine the value for acceleration due to gravity g in two ways:
(A) by timing the fall of a "picket fence"
(B) by timing the fall of two spheres.

Part A: The Picket Fence

EQUIPMENT:
Computer and PascoScientific 850 Interface Box
PASCO 9204A Basic Photogate Timer with clamp
PASCO 9377 Picket Fence
Foam pad

Computer Setup:
Log on to the computer; click on the “College Apps” icon.
Choose “Engineering Software,” “Pasco Scientific,” and “Pasco Capstone.”
In the Capstone software, click Hardware Setup on the left side toolbar.

Click Digital Input #1 and choose “Photogate.” Click “Timer Setup” and repeatedly hit “next” to
get to step 3, when you will choose “Picket fence” from dropdown menu.
At Step 4, choose Position and Speed, then click “next” until “Finish,” then click “Finish.”
Click Timer Setup to close toolbar.
From the right side tool bar, drag one table and 2 graphs onto worksheet. Set up the table for Distance and
Velocity data. Set up one graph for Distance Traveled vs Time and the other for Velocity vs Time.

PROCEDURE:
1. Hold the picket fence at the top and place it into the photogate so that the light beam is between the
bottom two dark bands.
2. Click on the red RECORD button at the bottom left of the screen to begin the timer. Drop the picket
fence through the photogate to the floor pad and click STOP to stop timing for Run #1.
3. On the screen, the data will be shown in the Table, and it will be plotted on the Distance Traveled vs
Time and Velocity vs Time graphs. Choose “Fit” from the top icons and select “Linear Fit” from the
drop-down menu. Record the acceleration.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3, four more times. Print data and graphs as directed by your instructor.
Part B: Ball Drop

EQUIPMENT
Pasco Free Fall apparatus on a support stand
Time-of-flight pad
Computer and PascoScientific 850 Interface Box
2 different spheres, each with a magnet attached
2-meter stick

PROCEDURE
In this part of the free fall experiment, a ball is attached to a drop box with a magnetic release
mechanism. When the release button is pressed, the ball drops onto a Time-of-flight pad below.
Both the drop box and the pad are connected to the computer through the Pasco Science Workshop
Interface box, so the ball’s drop can be timed and recorded.

The Freefall experiment apparatus should be set up as shown in the illustration below:
a. A support stand with the drop box attached is on the lab table.
b. Begin with the box near the top of the stand.
c. The Time-of-flight pad must be located on the floor directly beneath the drop box.
d. Connect the Drop Box to the Control Box with the grey cable, and plug the Control Box into an
electrical outlet.
e. Connect one end of the Timer Switch to the Control Box’s photogate plug. Connect the other
end to Digital Input #1 on the Interface Box.
f. Plug the Time-of-flight pad into Digital Input #2 on the black Pasco Interface Box.
Ball Drop Procedure (continued):
Log on to the computer if it’s not already on. Click on the “College Apps” icon.
Choose “Engineering Software,” “Pasco Scientific” and “Pasco Capstone.”

1. In the Capstone software, click Hardware setup on the left side toolbar.
Click Digital Input #1 and choose “Photogate.” Also click Digital Input # 2 and choose “Time of
Flight Accessory.” Click “Timer Setup” and repeatedly click “next” until “finish,” then click
“finish.” Click “Timer Setup” again to close the toolbar.

2. Double-click “Table” and choose “Measurement” and then “Time of Flight.”

(Optional – To increase the accuracy of the data, click Data Summery on the left toolbar and click on
Time of Flight. On the right side will be a gear icon; click to open the settings. Go to “Numerical format”
and set the number of decimal places to 3.)

3. One group member should be at the computer; a second person will control the apparatus, using the
timer switch to drop the ball. The third should carefully record all data by hand.

To begin collecting data, check to be sure the small green light on the side of the Drop Box is
steadily on, not blinking. (If it continues blinking, unplug the grey cable and plug it back in
again.) When it is steadily on, attach the large ball to the magnet on the bottom of the Drop Box.

Using the 2-meter stick, measure the distance from the top of the pad on the floor to the bottom
of the suspended ball. Record this distance d (in meters) in the first box of Table I below.

4. Click on the red RECORD button at the bottom left of the screen to begin the timer. Then
press the green button on the timer switch. The ball will drop to the pad. Retrieve the ball.
Record the time of fall displayed on the screen as T1 in Table I. Repeat 2 more times using the
large ball to get data for T2 and T3. Click the red STOP on the screen’s timer after the third ball-
drop.

5. Now do the same thing using the small ball. Wait until the green light is steady, attach the
ball
to the magnet, and measure the distance from the pad to the bottom of the ball. Record the distance
d in the first box in Table II. Click the red RECORD button on the screen, then press the green
release button. Retrieve the ball, record the time as T1 in Table II, and repeat 2 more times to get T2
and T3 for the small ball. Click STOP on the screen’s timer after the third ball-drop.

6. Now lower the clamp holding the drop box rod about 1/3 down the support stand.
Again, wait for the green light to be steadily on, attach the large ball, and measure the new distance
from the pad to the ball. Record d in the second row of Table I. Drop the ball 3 times and record the
times. Repeat the same procedure using the small ball from that height.

7. Lower the distance again and collect three more timings for each ball. Continue doing this to
get time-of-fall data for a total of at least 3 different distances, 3 times for each ball.

8. When all the data has been collected, complete Tables I and II by calculating Tave and (Tave)2.
Using Excel, graph d (on the y axis) vs (Tave)2 (on the x axis) for Tables I and II.
Connect the points with the best fit straight line. Now get the slope of each line using Excel
graphing tools. Enter it below.

Table I – Large Ball

d (m) T1 T2 T3 T ave (T ave) 2

Table II – Small Ball

d (m) T1 T2 T3 T ave (T ave) 2

Slope from Table I data _________

Slope from Table II data _________

Calculations

1. Organize all data in tabular form and plot Distance v. Time and Velocity v. Time for part B.
Calculate values for acceleration due to gravity (g).
How close are these values to the accepted value?

2. Calculate the instantaneous velocity at some point on each distance v. time graph and show
graphically how it is obtained.

QUESTIONS

1. Discuss the relative merits of each method for obtaining a value of g.

2. Discuss the value of this experiment.