FREE FALL ACCELERATION

EXPERIMENT NO.5

DATE PERFORMED: July 13, 2011 DATE SUBMITTED: July 20, 2011 Physics 21L- EA

Group No.6
MEMBERS: Yap, Mary Jane V. Sobremisana, Abbe Loraine E. Vergara, Kimberly S. Serdone, Keenex E. Torayno, Johdem I. Silve, Jerome James O. Tablizo, Enrico Glenn Q.

Instructor: Mrs. M.G. C. Francisco

I. FREE FALL ACCELERATION

II. INTRODUCTION: Free fall is motion determined solely by gravitational forces. For example, an object is dropped or thrown into the air is in free fall at every point in its trajectory. Free fall is a case of motion with constant acceleration. The magnitude of the acceleration due to gravity is represented by the symbol g which has the value of 9.8m/s2. The purpose of this lab experiment is to know how to calculate the value of g by measuring the times, t, taken to fall various distances, D. This experiment was made possible with an aid of the free fall apparatus wherein we place the ball on the upper part tube of the apparatus.

III. Materials: Free fall apparatus IV. Methods A. Gathering Data

1. Make sure the apparatus is exactly vertical (so the ball will always strike the lower trapdoor). Use the plumb line suspended through the tube. 2. Set D to 10.00 cm and record four time measurements. Increase D in steps of 5.00cm until 90.00 cm and make four time measurements for each value of D.

B. Processing Data
1. For each D value, compute the average of the four time values. 2. For each D value, compute 2D/t2. This expression gives a value of g. 3. Compute the average of all values of 2D/t2. This is your best value for the constant g. 4. Draw a neat graph of D against t. 5. Draw a neat graph of D against t2.

V. DATA: Distance 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55 0.60 0.65 0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 Time1 0.151 0.180 0.204 0.227 0.250 0.268 0.286 0.302 0.320 0.335 0.349 0.361 0.376 0.389 0.401 0.414 Time2 0.150 0.180 0.205 0.228 0.250 0.269 0.286 0.304 0.318 0.334 0.349 0.363 0.377 0.389 0.401 0.415 Time3 0.152 0.179 0.206 0.229 0.249 0.268 0.286 0.302 0.318 0.335 0.347 0.363 0.377 0.390 0.402 0.414 Time4 0.153 0.180 0.207 0.228 0.249 0.270 0.288 0.303 0.319 0.335 0.349 0.363 0.379 0.390 0.402 0.412 t
average

(S)

2D/t2 8.71 9.27 9.47 9.62 9.64 9.71 9.75 9.82 9.84 9.81 9.88 9.89 9.83 9.89 9.93 9.93

0.1575 0.1799 0.2055 0.2280 0.2495 0.2685 0.2865 0.3028 0.3188 0.3348 0.3485 0.3625 0.3773 0.3895 0.4015 0.4138

0.90

0.426

0.427

0.427

0.427

0.4268

9.86

Average 2D/t2: 9.70

VI. Discussion or Analysis

2. What is the direction of the acceleration of a freely falling body? A freely falling body is always downward. The magnitude of the acceleration due to gravity is a positive quantity g equal to 9.8 m/s2. If object is in freefall regardless if it is going up, down or sideways - its acceleration is equal to 9.80 m/s2downwards.

3. From her bedroom window a girl drops a water-filled balloon to the ground, 6.0m below. If the balloon is released from rest, how long is it in the air? What is the balloons velocity when it reached the ground? Given: y-yo= 6.0m Required: a.) t b.) v Solution:

a.)y= yo + vot Therefore,

12g2

Since, the water-filled balloon is drop; its initial velocity is zero (0).

y-yo= vott= t=
2y-yog

12gt

2-6.0m(-9.80m)s2

t= 1.10s b.) v= vo gt v= 0 -(9.8m/s2) (1.10s) v= -10.78 m/s

VII. CONCLUSION The experiment generally shows and explains that the longer the distance is, the time duration of the fall is increases. This is due to the pull of earths gravity because in free fall only gravity is the only force acting upon it.

VIII. FIGURES & GRAPHS