Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Aim: Plan and design an experiment to find the value of acceleration due to gravity
Apparatus/Materials:
Pencil
Stopwatch
Diagram:
Principle/Theory:
1
When something falls freely the displacement 𝑠 = 𝑢𝑡 2 𝑔𝑡 2 . Where the initial velocity is u = 0
1 2𝑠
ms-1.Therefore 𝑠 = 2 𝑔𝑡 2 hence𝑔 = .
𝑡2
Procedure:
1. The height a section of a wall was measured with a ruler
2. The height of the wall was divided into 5 parts
3. A pencil was dropped at each height and timed
4. The time taken for the pencil to fall was recorded along with its corresponding height
5. The results were tabulated
Observations/Results:
Displacement(cm) Time (s)
0.88 0.43
0.80 0.40
0.72 0.3.8
0.64 0.36
0.56 0.34
TABLE SHOWING THE DISPLACEMENT OF THE PENCIL AND THE TIME IT
TOOK TO FELL.
Calculations:
2𝑠
𝑔=
𝑡2
2(0.88) 1.76
g = (0.43)2 =0.1849=9.52 ms-2
2(0.80) 1.6
g= =0.16 = 10 ms-2
(0.4)2
2(0.72) 1.44
g = (0.38)2 =0.1444 = 9.97 ms-2
2(0.64) 1.28
𝑔 = (0.36)2 =0.1296 = 9.87 ms-2
2(0.56) 1.12
g = (0.34)2 =0.1156 = 9.68 ms-2
Discussion:
A force is a push or pull, which one object applies to another object .Forces always involve an
interaction between two objects. When objects are joined together or in contact, the forces are
known as contact forces. When the force acts over a distance without any direct contact, the
forces are called non-contact forces. The regions over which non-contact forces act are called
fields. The gravitational attraction between the earth and the moon is a non-contact force. The
Earth’s gravitational field is the region around the earth where there is a force on masses due to
the Earth’s gravity. In this region, an object not acted on by the other forces will accelerate
towards the earth. This acceleration due to the Earth’s gravitational force is called ‘g’. It is also
called the Earth’s gravitational field strength. The units of g are usually given as either ms-2 or
Nkg-1.
Conclusion
Limitations:
❋ Sources of error
It was ensured that the readings taken properly.
It was ensured that the experiment was done more than once to obtain readings
that are more accurate.
❋Precaution