AQA Physics: AS Required Practical Report 3

“Determination of g by a free-fall method”

Liam Wright

Contents
1 Introduction 1

2 Experiment 2
2.1 Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1.1 List of Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1.2 Technical Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.2 Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.3 Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3 Analysis 3

4 Conclusions 4

5 Appendix 5
5.1 Precautionary Health and Safety Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5.2 Figures and Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5.3 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

1 Introduction
The purpose of this experiment is to find an approximate value for g, the ac-
celeration gained by an object due to gravitational force near to the surface
of earth. Light gates are used in order to investigate the length of time taken
for a ball bearing to pass through two points during free fall. This duration,
t, is measured as dependent on the vertical seperation of the light gates, given
here as s. Condtitions are difficult to control adequately, but we minimise air
resistance throught the use of a small ball bearing. An equation for motion in
one dimension with constant accelaration can then be manipulated to find the
acceleration due to gravity, g. The equation used is given below for clarity (u is
the initial velocity); however, a derivation is unnecessary and beyond the scope
of this report.[1]
1
s = ut + gt2
2
We expect a value of g on the order of 10 ms−2 .

1
2 Experiment
2.1 Materials
2.1.1 List of Materials
• Clamp stand (with three bosses, three clamps and a G-clamp)

• Electromagnet (with low voltage variable DC supply)

• Steel ball bearing
• Two light gates
• High precision data logger

• Padded container (to collect the ball bearing without damaging the floor)

2.1.2 Technical Information

• The electromagnet and light gates are suspended from the clamp stand,
which is held in place by the G-clamp. The electromagnet and light gates
must be positioned on the same line such that the ball bearing fall and
passes directly through the perpendicular ray produced by each light gate.

• The electromagnet is a convenient way of releasing the ball bearing with-

out variation in height or initial velocity. It is connected to the variable
DC supply at a voltage specified by the electromagnet manufacturer. To
append the ball bearing to the electromagnet, first apply the current to
the electromagnet and attach the ball bearing. The ball bearing will be
released when the current is removed.
• The data logger is connected to the light gates such that a timer begins
when the upper light gate is activated by the passing ball bearing and the
timer is stopped when the lower light gate is activated.

2.2 Methods
The method used in this experiment is relatively straightforward. First, the
materials are set up as described in section 2, seperating the light gates vertically
by some distance, s. When the setup is done and the DC supply is on, the ball
bearing is attached to the electromagnet. The data logger is then set to begin
timing as soon the first light gate is activated and to stop when the second
light gate is activated. When a measurement is to be taken, the electromagnet
is released by switching off the DC supply. The logger should automatically
record the time taken for the ball bearing to pass from the first to the second
light gate. Repeat measurements are taken for the given value of s as desired.The
distance s is changed by varying the vertical seperation of the light gates; this
is most easily achieved by moving the bottom light gate closer to the top light
gate so that the initial velocity of the falling ball bearing remains roughly the
same. For our purposes, ten repeats were taken for each value of the variable s
in decrements of 10 cm. The data from our experiment is tabulated in the next
subsection.

2
2.3 Data

Table 1: Effect of light gates’ vertical seperation on the time taken during free
fall of a ball bearing.
Time Taken (ms) 4 s.f.
Vertical Seperation (cm)
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X
100(5) 406.4 407.9 406.5 406.2 411.4 409.6 413.0 414.0 410.2 413.4
90(5) 383.4 385.4 385.3 381.4 382.0 381.5 382.0 381.6 382.9 382.7
80(5) 359.6 360.1 358.5 360.0 359.1 359.7 358.2 350.8 355.0 355.0
70(5) 331.2 331.0 331.2 331.2 330.4 329.7 331.4 327.2 330.8 332.0
60(5) 310.0 309.5 309.7 310.6 312.2 309.8 310.5 310.9 311.8 310.7

Table 2: Average time taken over ten repetitions. [Note: (.01) means ±0.01]
Vertical Seperation (cm) Average Time Taken (ms) 5 s.f.
100(5) 409.80(.005)
90(5) 382.80(.005)
80(5) 357.60(.005)
70(5) 330.59(.005)
60(5) 310.60(.005)

3 Analysis
From the given data we can find several approximations for g. Given that
s = 12 gt2 , rearranging to solve for g we find that g = 2s
t2 . Table 3 is shown
below, detailing the values of g that can be evaluated using our equation.

Table 3: Evaluating g using the data from the free fall experiment.
Vertical Seperation (cm) Average Time (ms) g (m · s−2 )
100(5) 409.8(.005) 11.91(.59)
90(5) 382.8(.005) 12.28(.69)
80(5) 357.60(.005) 12.51(.78)
70(5) 330.59(.005) 12.81(.91)
60(5) 310.60(.005) 12.44(1.04)

We can see from the regression data in figure 3.1 (see section 5.2) that something
is amiss with these results. The regression line has a nonzero y-intercept, which
suggests that the ball bearing has a nonzero velocity as it passes through the
upper light gate. (The only other explanation would be nonzero initial time,
which is absurd.) Our setup is likely responsible for a systematic error that re-
sults in an overestimation of g. The first light gate could not be placed exactly
in line with the ball bearing since this would prevent the gate from triggering
properly when the ball passes through it. Despite this shortfall, using the equa-
tion v = u + gt we can work out that the ball bearing falls for approximately
50 miliseconds before triggering the first light gate. The initial velocity is then

3
given by u = st − 12 gt which yields a value of approximately 0.46 ± 0.14 ms−1
when the average time and average g-value in Table 3 are used. Using yet an-
other equation for motion in one dimension we can solve for g again, except that
this time we can factor in the initial velocity, u. Table 4 tabulates the results
by adjusting the values from Table 3 accordingly.

2(s − ut)
g=
t2

Table 4: Adjusting the value of g for the value of u worked out above.
Vertical Seperation (cm) Average Time (ms) g (ms−2 )
100(5) 409.8(05) 9.66(.60)
90(5) 382.8(05) 9.88(.70)
80(5) 357.60(05) 9.93(.79)
70(5) 330.59(05) 10.0(.91)
60(5) 310.60(05) 9.47(1.04)

The measurement errors in this experiment varied in magnitude significantly. A

meter ruler was used to measure the vertical distance between the light gates.
Diffuclty manipulating awkwardly placed equipment meant that we could not
reduce the error in measurement to lower than 6%. On the other hand, the
light gates and data logger were extremely precise, with an average error of less
than 1.2−3 %, which is small enough to be ignored for our purposes. Overall,
our average error for g works out to be approximately 8.2%. Estimating g it-
self as the average of the results in Table 4, column 3, we can estimate that
g = 9.76 ± 0.8 ms−2 . Using a χ2 test with 4 degrees of freedom provides signif-
icant evidence that this is close to our expected value for g (p < 0.005). Having
a means by which to measure the vertical displacement much more accurately
would have led to more significant figures in our final estimate for g, a lower
error, and greater statistical significance, but 2 s.f. is good enough for most
practical purposes.

4 Conclusions
To conclude, we have shown using a simple free fall method that g is almost
certainly in the interval 9.0 ≤ g ≤ 10 ms−2 to 2 significant figures. Our hy-
pothesis was that g be on the order of 10 ms−2 , so the result is in agreement
with the hypothesis. This means that an object in free fall, in the absence of
any atmospheric conditions, will increase in velocity by approximately 9.76±0.8
meters per second each second until it reaches the ground.

4
5 Appendix
5.1 Precautionary Health and Safety Measures
What are the Hazards? Who is at risk and how? What can be done to man- What can be done if risk oc-
age this risk? curs?
Electrocution Staff and students may be at risk The voltage in this experiment Immediately cut off the current
of electrocution from the bare is well below 120V (DC) spec- to the injured person(s). The in-
wires connecting the variable DC ified as the danger level in the jured person(s) should be treated
supply to the electromagnet. British Standard BS-7671. How- by a qualified first-aid medic.
ever, caution should be taken to
avoid touching the wires or elec-
tromagnet when the current is
flowing. The wires should be in-
sulated to prevent injury.
Slips and Trips Staff and students may be at risk Ball bearings can be easily lost The injured person(s) should be
of slipping on ball bearings, caus- in this experiment; make sure to treated by a qualified first-aid
ing mild to severe injury. pick up any loose ball bearings medic.
after they fall to the ground. As
suggested in section 2, a high
walled container would be a good
means of reducing risk here.

5.2 Figures and Graphs

Figure 3.1: Time dependence of vertical distance in free fall.
Time taken to pass lower light gate (s)

0.5
regression line: 0.2506x+0.1578

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Vertical seperation of light gates (m)

5.3 References
[1] Physics; Young & Freedman; Pearson; 14th Edition (Dec. 2014); ISBN-13:
978-0321973610 (pp.91-125)