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Christopher Perkins Dr. Anne Morse PHY-151-002 22 August 2011 Determining the relationship between mass and falling speed Introduction The purpose of the lab conducted on 15 August 2011 was to determine whether the mass of a falling object affects its average speed. To determine whether or not the mass affected the speed of the falling object, the group used the principle of speed. The equation for speed is as follows:

Represents the change in path travelled, and

is a measurement of the change in time. The

objects used in the lab were a baseball, tennis ball, racquet ball, and a foam ball. Procedure In order to determine whether or not the mass of a falling object affects its speed, the group first measured the height at which the objects were being dropped. A ball of yarn was unwound from the drop elevation, which was on the second floor balcony of Meyer Hall at Sandhills Community College, to the ground. The length of the yarn from the drop point to the

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ground was then measured using a two meter stick. The height was determined to be 5.25 m, or 525 cm. To measure the time an object took to fall to the ground, a stop watch accurate to the hundredth of a second was used. The time started when the object was released from the group member on the second floor balcony, and the time was stopped when the object hit the ground. The stopwatch was operated by the group member on the ground. The object would be dropped from the balcony, have the time recorded, and then returned to the second floor balcony. This procedure would repeat fourteen additional times per object. The order in which the objects were tested was the baseball, followed by the tennis ball, racquet ball, and foam ball. After the tests were conducted, the objects mass were measured using a triple beam balance, and their weight was recorded in grams. Data
Baseball Tennis Ball Racquet Ball Foam Ball Mass (g) 139.9 Mass (g) 59.3 Mass (g) 40.85 Mass (g) 14.4 Height (m) 5.25 Height (m) 5.25 Height (m) 5.25 Height (m) 5.25 Trial Time Avg Speed Trial Time Avg Speed Trial Time Avg Speed Trial Time Avg Speed 1 0.87 6.03 1 0.85 6.18 1 0.89 5.90 1 0.91 5.77 2 0.76 6.91 2 0.9 5.83 2 0.81 6.48 2 0.85 6.18 3 0.87 6.03 3 0.92 5.71 3 0.72 7.29 3 0.95 5.53 4 0.83 6.33 4 1.06 4.95 4 0.85 6.18 4 0.92 5.71 5 0.85 6.18 5 1.04 5.05 5 1 5.25 5 1.12 4.69 6 0.81 6.48 6 1.1 4.77 6 0.81 6.48 6 0.98 5.36 7 0.9 5.83 7 0.87 6.03 7 0.81 6.48 7 0.93 5.65 8 1.01 5.20 8 0.88 5.97 8 0.84 6.25 8 0.93 5.65 9 0.82 6.40 9 0.92 5.71 9 0.85 6.18 9 0.87 6.03 10 0.85 6.18 10 0.93 5.65 10 0.81 6.48 10 0.85 6.18 11 0.9 5.83 11 0.97 5.41 11 0.93 5.65 11 0.89 5.90 12 0.87 6.03 12 0.9 5.83 12 0.93 5.65 12 0.9 5.83 13 0.88 5.97 13 0.87 6.03 13 0.81 6.48 13 0.8 6.56 14 0.88 5.97 14 0.81 6.48 14 0.78 6.73 14 0.91 5.77 15 0.86 6.10 15 0.78 6.73 15 0.82 6.40 15 0.91 5.77 Uncertainty 0.10 0.14 0.13 0.11 Avg Speed 6.10 5.76 6.26 5.77

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Calculations             



 Results

A source of error identified in the experiment can be the reaction time of a human. Modern laboratory studies conducted using EEG and fMRI machines have determine the average reaction time for a human to perceive movement is 330 milliseconds, or .330 seconds. With this in mind, it is more than likely that the stopwatch continued to run after the object hit the ground. This longer time recorded on the stopwatch would have made the average speed for the object slower than it actually was. With the data collect from the laboratory experiment conducted, the group found that there was no significant relationship between a falling objects mass and its average speed. If such a relationship were to exist, the two heavier objects, the baseball and tennis ball, should have had similar average speeds. However, it was the racquet ball, nearly 100 grams lighter than the baseball, which had a similar average speed.