Group Members: Tyler Dunn, Timmy Keegan
September 18, 2018
- Research question: How does time affect the position of the cart on a ramp
- Independent variable: Time
- Dependent variable: change in position
- Control variables: cart, ramp (incline and setup), and releaser of the cart
For the control variables, we made sure that nothing we used in our experiment to record data changed.
Procedure:
Set up ramp to a desired height reasonable for acceleration and data collection
Place the cart on the top of the ramp, start recording and let the cart run
September 18, 2018
- Research question: How does time affect the position of the cart on a ramp
- Independent variable: Time
- Dependent variable: change in position
- Control variables: cart, ramp (incline and setup), and releaser of the cart
For the control variables, we made sure that nothing we used in our experiment to record data changed.
Procedure:
Set up ramp to a desired height reasonable for acceleration and data collection
Place the cart on the top of the ramp, start recording and let the cart run
Diagram:
Materials:
Data:
Position vs. Time Graph:
Position vs. Time Equation:
Formula -- position = 0.2871 * time² + 0.02235 * time - 0.003942
Y-intercept -- - 0.003942
This is a close approximation of where the cart starts its motion in relation to the motion sensor
Formula -- position = 0.2871 * time² + 0.02235 * time - 0.003942
Y-intercept -- - 0.003942
This is a close approximation of where the cart starts its motion in relation to the motion sensor
Velocity vs. Time Graph:
Velocity vs. Time Equation:
Formula -- Velocity = 0.5800 m/s² * time
Slope -- 0.5800 m/s²
This value represents the acceleration associated with the cart's motion on the ramp
This value is constant throughout the motion and is a rough approximation of what the actual acceleration is because this is a line of best fit of the data collected by the motion detector.
Formula -- Velocity = 0.5800 m/s² * time
Slope -- 0.5800 m/s²
This value represents the acceleration associated with the cart's motion on the ramp
This value is constant throughout the motion and is a rough approximation of what the actual acceleration is because this is a line of best fit of the data collected by the motion detector.
Uncertainties:
One uncertainty is the recording of points on the video analysis, the number of frames is not exactly the same interval when placing points. Also, we only has one or two trials so there may be some uncertainty in that aspect.
Conclusion:
The cart starts at velocity and position zero and then accelerates at a constant rate, around half a meter per second every second. This acceleration continues until it reaches the end of the ramp at 2 meters and a velocity of 1.4 meters per second. In conclusion, the cart accelerated down the ramp constantly due to gravity acting on the cart after it is released.