Calculating the Acceleration due to Gravity

Esdras Guzman

Physics Department

Academy for Math, Engineering, and Science

September 14, 2017

Abstract: Starting with just a weight and ticker tape. You’ll be able to calculate the amount of
time between ach marked distance and velocity as the tape and the weight falls to the floor and
hits the ground.
 I. Introduction:

This investigation was carried out to determine velocity, acceleration, time, and distance of
dropping a weight attached to 4 feet of ticker tape. We did this to see how things work in
equations in real life when we drop something. Cause who doesn’t love dropping things? In this
we had to figure out time vs. acceleration, time vs. distance, time vs. velocity and etc.

II. Theory:

Because we haven’t gotten into anything about how and why the things we do works, we’ll try to
figure out how fast something is falling and how fast it went in a certain point in time. Hopefully
this lab will help us in understanding how things work and what makes them work.

III. Experimental Details:

By proceeding to do this experiment we will find out how the world works and why it does.
Students will proceed to attach a weight to 4 or 5 feet of ticker tape with a machine to burn a
mark into the paper. As the weight drags the paper and the paper attached to the machine, the
machine will burn a mark at the same rate since the beginning and mark the ticker tape. When
this is over the marks on the paper will then have a mark that’s always a different distance than
the previous one because of the weight. By doing so well be able to calculate the acceleration,
velocity and time it takes to hit the ground with equations.
IV. Results:

 In order to get these results we had to drop 4 feet of ticker tape attached to a
weight and use a small machine that zaps and burns a mark on the tape and we
also have to measure the distance between each mark and put it in a graph.

time vs Change in position

y = 0.1506x - 0.0062
0.09
0.08
0.07
Change in position (m)

0.06
Change in Position (m)
0.05
0.04
Linear (Change in Position
0.03
(m))
0.02
0.01 Linear (Change in Position
(m))
0
-0.01 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
-0.02
TIme

Time vs velocity
5
y = 9.038x - 0.3704
4

3
Velocity

Velocity
2
Linear (Velocity)
1 Linear (Velocity)

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
-1
Time
 time vs position
1.4

1.2

1 y = 2.1552x - 0.2174

0.8
Postion

0.6 position

0.4 Linear (position)

Linear (position)
0.2

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6
-0.2

-0.4
time

time vs accerlation
25
y = 10.432x + 5.8364
20
ACceleration

15
Acceleration
10 Linear (Acceleration)

5 Linear (Acceleration)

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6
Time
 V. Discussion:

In the end of the experiment we managed to find the velocity the weight was going thanks to the
marks on the paper and the formula we used was y=9.038x*0.3704. as the graph shows us also
the velocity at certain times and the other graphs show us how fast it was going or its
acceleration at a certain point in time.

VI. Conclusion:

For this experiment we find that the falling weight helped us figure out the acceleration, velocity
of a certain point in time as soon as we dropped the weight. The velocity the weight was going
when it hit the ground was 4.74 m/s and the acceleration at a certain second for example: the
acceleration at the given time: 0.3 seconds was 10.8 m/s

VII. References :

Calculating the Acceleration due to Gravity, Mrs. Whitbeck