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Lab 3 - Projectile Motion

This document describes an experiment to investigate projectile motion. A ball is rolled off an inclined ramp and its trajectory is recorded on paper below. Measurements of the horizontal and vertical distances traveled by the ball are taken and plotted on a graph. By analyzing the graph using the kinematic equations of projectile motion, the initial speed of the ball and a constant value can be determined. Sources of error and examples of projectile motion in real life are also discussed.

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victoria kairoo
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100% found this document useful (2 votes)
708 views2 pages

Lab 3 - Projectile Motion

This document describes an experiment to investigate projectile motion. A ball is rolled off an inclined ramp and its trajectory is recorded on paper below. Measurements of the horizontal and vertical distances traveled by the ball are taken and plotted on a graph. By analyzing the graph using the kinematic equations of projectile motion, the initial speed of the ball and a constant value can be determined. Sources of error and examples of projectile motion in real life are also discussed.

Uploaded by

victoria kairoo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Title: Projectile Motion

Aim: To investigate the trajectory of a small ball as it rolls off a surface which is inclined to the
horizontal.
Theory:
1. Projectile motion describes the motion of unpowered objects launched at the angle of Ѳ
to the horizontal and only moving under the influence of gravity.
2. Equation that relates x and y :
Where y – vertical distance
X – Horizontal distance
G – acceleration due to gravity which is 9.8ms-2
U – speed of the ball as it leaves the ramp
K – a constant

Apparatus:
Wooden block wooden board sheet of paper
Ball ramp carbon paper
Plumb-line retort stand
Method:
1. A ramp was set up at the edge of a bench as shown in diagram 1.
2. A plumb-line was suspended from the edge of the bench using sellotape as shown in
diagram 2.
3. A wooden board was mounted horizontally so the board is situated about 60cm below the
bottom of the ramp. A blank sheet of paper was attached on top the surface of the board.
4. A sheet of carbon paper was placed on top of the blank paper with the ink covered side
facing down.
5. The ball was released from the top of the ramp and allowed to roll onto the board below.
The carbon paper was removed and a mark on the white sheet of paper was observed.
6. The vertical distance y (between the bottom o the ramp and the top of the board) and the
horizontal distance x (between the plumb-line and the mark ion the paper) were measured
and recorded.
7. The value of y was reduced and steps 5-6 were repeated until six w\readings for x and y
were obtained.
8. The readings were tabulated and represented graphically.
Results:
Table 1: table showing the vertical distances, y, and the horizontal distances, x, recorded:
Horizontal Distance / cm Vertical Distance /cm

Analysis:
1. Plot a graph of y/x against x.
Values for graph:
Y axis (y/x) {no units because they cancel X axis / cm
out)

2. Determine the gradient and the y intercept of the graph


3. Use your answers from 2 to determine the values for k and u. include units where
appropriate
Discussion:
In this experiment, projectile motion was investigated by using a ball and a ramp. The horizontal
components and the vertical components of motion were recorded and manipulated to plat a
graph of y/x vs x components. Analysis of the graph to find the gradient and y-intercept was
carried out. The gradient of the graph was _____ and the y intercept was ___. These values in
correlation with the equation that relates x and y was used to determine the value of the constant,
k and the initial speed of the ball, u.
A source of error that occurred was
Precaution was taken to ensure that the readings for the components were taken at eye level to
reduce parallax error.
Projectile motion is seen in many instances. For example, when a

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