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Last Modified: 2:01pm 10 Aug 11

Rolling a ball down a ramp

Your job today is to figure out how long it takes for a ball to roll down a ramp. You will make measurements, draw a graph, and think about how to interpret your work.

  1. Set up one the tracks on your table so that it lies at a 4.5-degree angle. Draw a diagram showing the track and explaining how you know the angle is 4.5 degrees.

  2. Place a ball on the ramp so that it must roll about 50 cm. How precisely can you arrange this distance? To within +/- 1 cm? +/- 0.5 cm? +/- 0.1 cm? Decide, write down your precision and why you can't do any better.

  3. You will use a stopwatch to measure how long it takes the ball to roll down. How good is the stopwatch? Can you make measurements good to +/- 1 second? +/- 0.1 second? +/- 0.01 second?

  4. Figure out the best way to start and stop the ball and the watch. Describe exactly how many people are involved, and who does what.

  5. Measure the time it takes for the ball to roll down 5 different distances: 10 cm, 20 cm, 40 cm, 80 cm, 100 cm. Make sure that you make at least 3 trials at each distance. Record all your measurements in a NEAT table (one table per group).

  6. Now, each person must make a graph of all the measurements, showing the distance rolled on the horizontal axis and time on the vertical axis. Label the graph carefully.

  7. Bring your graph to the instructor, who will mark a particular distance. You must use your measurements to figure out
    1. how long it would take the ball to roll that distance, expressed as a best guess with a range
    2. how many figures should you use to write your best guess
    3. how fast the ball is moving when it has rolled that distance
    Show all your work!

Hand in: You must hand in all your work before you leave the room. There should be one page with a diagram, notes on your procedure, and a table of your measurements -- write all your names on this page. In addition, there should be one graph per person in the group -- write your own name on the graph. Write a second, neat copy of any measurements or calculations which are messy. Staple together all sheets before you turn in your material.

If you have extra time ...

Can you make a second graph, on another piece of paper, in which all your measurements lie along a straight line?

Sorry, we could not find this page | RIT CIS - Center for Imaging Science

Sorry, we could not find this page

We apologize, but the page you were looking for is not available. Most of our material is available from the menus above.

Last Modified: 2:01pm 10 Aug 11

Adapted from Prof. Michael Richmond.