Santiago, Risha Angela H.

2011100813 PHY10L/A11

Date Performed: 11/04/2013 Date Submitted: 11/11/2013

Experiment 102 KINEMATICS

Experiment 102: Kinematics is a three-part experiment which are entitled, Part A: Determination of the Average Velocity of a Dynamics Cart, Part B: Determining Acceleration Due to Gravity Using Carts Acceleration, and Part C: Determining Acceleration Due to Gravity Using Picket Fence and Smart Timer. A dynamics cart is to be used in application of the fundamental concepts of motion of an object. III. Procedure Since this experiment is further divided into three parts, there has to have three types of setup in which they are subtly modified from one another. Just like the previous experiment, a visual guide found in the handbook is used to obtain and double-check the correct setups for this particular experiment. For Part A, secure the dynamics track and place the dynamics cart on top of it. Attach the picket fence on to the cart. Next step is to place two photogates at the 25cm and 65cm respectively. Adjust its height when necessary to refrain from obstructing the passage of the cart with the attached picket fence. Secure the proper connectors to be used to the two photogates and have it plugged into the smart timer. Set the timer to Time: Two Gates. Press the third button of the smart timer when the setup is ready. Note that the cart has to start from 0cm of the dynamics track. Do record the results appeared on the smart timer. There are five trials to be done and each trial needs to have the second photogate, which originally measured at 65cm, adjusted to an additional 10cm in every succeeding trial.

I. Introduction Kinematics is a quantitative study of an object in motion, without the need of considering its reference or what has caused the motion, such as its force or mass. In connection to real life, concepts of kinematics are being applied on, but not limited to the following: automobiles, aircrafts, and electronic gadgetsmachine design, per se. In this experiment, it aims to describe motion by determining velocity and acceleration as well as determining acceleration considering gravity experimentally.

II. Materials 1 pc Dynamics Cart (ME-9430) 1 pc Dynamics Track with Angle Indicator and End Stop 2 pcs Photogate 1 pc Smart Timer 2 pcs Photogate Mounting Bracket 1 pc Smart Timer Picket Fence 1 pc Meter Stick 1 pc Stand

For Part B, same setup is to be used but with a couple of modifications. First modification is the angled track. To obtain that, the dynamics track has to be attached to the stand to which it measures 5cm as its initial height. In the same way, the height of the photogates has to be adjusted prior to change of position of the track to obtain precision of the motion. Photogate 1 is positioned at 80cm mark. The setting to be used on the timer is Accel: One Gate. Again, five trials are to be done. Each succeeding trial must have an additional height of 2cm. Last but not the least, Part C. First step is to position the photogate horizontally. Set the timer to Accel: One Gate. When ready, please the third button. The picket fence has to be dropped vertically, making sure that it has passed through the photobeam perpendicularly.

IV.

Results and Discussion

Table 1: Determination of the Average Velocity of a Dynamics Cart Position of Photogate 1, Xo = 25cm
Trial Position of Carts Photogate 2 Displacement Time Average Speed

1 2 3 4 5

65cm 75cm 85cm 95cm 105cm

40cm 50cm 60cm 70cm 80cm

0.6306s 0.8083s 0.9704s 1.1516s 1.2707s

63.43cm/s 61.86cm/s 61.83cm/s 60.78cm/s 62.98cm/s

Table 2: Determination of the Acceleration Due to Gravity Using Carts Acceleration Carts Initial Position, Xo = 18.5cm Carts Final Position, Xf = 18.5cm Tracks Total Length, L = 120cm Total Displacement, X = X = 101.5cm
Trial Height of Track Acceler ation (cm/s2) Sin = H/L g= a/sin (cm/s2) Time

1 2 3 4 5

7.7cm 9.7cm 11.7cm 13.7cm 15.7cm

56.8 77.0 88.4 104.9 127.4

0.0642 0.0808 0.0975 0.1142 0.1308

886.3 953.0 906.7 918.6 974.0

1.787s 1.318s 1.148s 0.967s 0.796s

Table 3: Determination of Acceleration Due to Gravity Using Picket Fence and Smart Timer Acceleration (a), Trial Timers Reading 1 980.6 2 978.2 3 988.2 4 992.7 5 989.2 979.8 Average: 0.02% Percent Error:

V. Evaluation From the data obtained, what is the effect of the height of the track to the carts acceleration? The value of the height in which the value of sin heavily relies on, increases along with the increasing value of acceleration. Which means that the height is directly proportional to its acceleration. From the data obtained, how is time, t related to the inclination of the track? Explain why? Time is related to the inclination of the track in such a way that its height and gravitational pull are considered factors that affect the moving, free-falling objects acceleration. From the data obtained, how would you account the difference between the picket fences acceleration and the value of g? There is no significant difference between them as they are interrelated. It is because the acceleration that takes place on the picket fence will have the value taken from the slope of a graph of average velocity with respect to time.

its own upon going down to a flat surface. There are factors in which contributes to a possible error in the activity. Although these are minor factors, these could affect on the output while doing in the experiment. Of course, the most apparent factor is the lack of comprehension in following the instructions on the handbook. Sometimes, we neglect the next few steps the moment we have already figured out what to do. Also, another point of inaccuracy of results is the lack of precision. Perhaps, we may often neglect to check, double-check, or triple-check if the photogates are aligned to the right measurement. The presence of friction on the air track could possibly cause an inaccuracy, since friction would always be present there and affects the movement of the cart.

VII. References [1] Department of Physics, Experiment 102: Kinematics, Mapa Institute of Technology VIII. Acknowledgements I would like to thank my group mates for being so accommodating in answering my queries during the experiment. I would also like to extend my utmost gratitude to our instructor, Maam Teci, for being really patient with us (as well as for lightening up the atmosphere with a smile!). It helped me a lot in catching up with the missed lessons in my lecture class. Of course, to the ever trusty World Wide Web and my MacBook named Simone. This lab report wouldnt be possible without these mentioned things and people. Thanks to you all!

VI. Concluding Remarks In this experiment, the concepts of motion are interrelated to each other. For instance, height matters when we are to find out its acceleration. As the height increases, the acceleration also increases. It is because of the pull made by the gravity to make the movement even quicker as its starting point is high enough to make an object move on

Appendix A: Calculations