Physics Project

Kinetic Energy

Kinetic Energy
Abstract
Theobjective:
My project is to determine if weight
distribution inside a cylinder affects the
speed of the cylinder while traveling down a
slope.

Methods/Materials
The speed of three cylinders is
measured at the end of a 6
meter slope.
One cylinder has no washers.
The second cylinder has
washers positioned along the
perimeter of the cylinder.
The third cylinder has washers
stacked in the center of the
cylinder.
The speed in meters/second is
measured 10 times each for
all three cylinders.

Results
The cylinder with the
washers stacked in the
center travels the fastest
with an average speed of
1.99 m/s. The cylinder with
washers positioned along
the perimeter travels an
average speed of 1.75 m/s.
The cylinder with no
washers travels the slowest
with an average speed of
1.72 m/s.

Conclusions/Discussio
n
My conclusion is that all the cylinders has the same

potential kinetic energy. However, the cylinder with the

washers positioned along the perimeter used more of its
original kinetic energy just to get the cylinder rolling. The
cylinder with the washers stacked in the center had more
translational kinetic energy available at the 6 meter mark
which resulted in a faster speed. The cylinder with no
washers had less mass, therefore less original potential
kinetic energy at the top of the slope.
This project was about how weight placement in a cylinder
affects the speed of a cylinder when in motion.

Facts

An object keeps the same amount of kinetic energy unless it speeds up or

slows down.
Kinetic energy can be calculated for any moving object as long as the
objects' mass and speed are known.
The unit used when measuring kinetic energy is called a joule.Kinetic
energy can occur in any direction whether up and down or left to right.
When an objects' mass doubles, its kinetic energy also doubles.When an
objects' speed doubles, its kinetic energy quadruples.
The faster an object moves, the more kinetic energy it has.
When an object collides with another object, it transfers its kinetic energy
to the other object.
As a car on a roller coaster goes up hill, it loses kinetic energy.
In order for an object to gain kinetic energy, work has to be done to the
object.
The word kinetic comes from the Greek word kinesis which means motion.
Although the concept of kinetic energy dates back to the days of Aristotle,
Lord Kelvin is given the credit for first using the term around the year 1849.
Most kinetic energy begins as a different kind of energy and is converted.
There are two main types of kinetic energy: translational and rotational.
Translational kinetic energy depends on motion through space and
rotational kinetic energy depends on motion centered on an axis.