Measurement of Gravitational Acceleration
by Tracker
I. Objectives
(1) Learning how to use a camera to record the motion of an object.
(2) Learning how to use “Tracker” to analyze the motion of an object and to obtain its
displacement, velocity, acceleration, and gravitational acceleration.
II. Theory
“The Galileo's Inclined Plane Experiment” ranks as the eighth among the ten classical physics
experiments (http://physics-animations.com/Physics/English/top10.htm). Its objective is to verify
the acceleration of free-falling bodies. Due to the poor precision in measuring time in that era and
the large speed increment due to gravity, the relation between displacement and time is hard to
measure. Using an inclined plane and a copper ball rolling along a groove in the plane, Galileo
made the historical determination that the displacement of a free-falling body is proportion to the
square of the elapsed time, not the linear relation proposed by Greek philosopher Aristotle.
Nowadays, we all know that the gravitational acceleration constant is around g = 9.8m/s2. In this
lab session, we will reproduce this classical experiment and learn how Galileo slowed down the
ball to make the discovery.
Figure 1. The inclined plane and the measurement of gravitational acceleration g.
Place an object with mass m on a plane with an inclined angle θ. The gravitational force mg has a
component along the plane and pulls the object to move with an acceleration a. If the frictional
force is neglected, the component forces along the X and the Y direction, where X is along the
plane and Y is perpendicular to the plane, can be expressed as:
X: 𝑚𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 = 𝑚a
!
Y: 𝑚𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 = 𝑁
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The reaction force of the inclined plane to the object is N and it counters the g-force along the Y
direction; the component of the g-force along the X direction will be induced to an acceleration a
= g sinθ. Since sinθ ≦ 1, a will be smaller than g. Therefore, by using a small and inclined angle
θ, the ball can be slowed to a degree that the timers in that era can have a sufficient accuracy
In this lab session, we will use a camera to record the motion of the object along the inclined
plane and use the “Tracker” software to perform the analysis to obtain a. After plugging it into
!
𝑔 = "#$"#$ & , the gravitational acceleration g can be obtained. Please note that the camera in this
lab, Nikon J1, also possesses a 400 frames/sec high speed recording mode. You can record the
free-falling motions directly and then use Tracker to analyze them to obtain the gravitational
acceleration g.
III. Method
(1) Take a Melamine board and form an adjustable inclined plane.
(2) Use the camera to record the sliding motion of a toy car along the inclined place (or the
free-falling motion of a marble). You may want to put a reflective sticker on the toy car
to assist the working of the Tracker.
(3) Use the “Tracker” software to track and to analyze its motion.
IV. Apparatus and Setup
Camera, tripod, smooth inclined plane, marble, toy car (preferred the ones with large mass
and small wheels), ruler, protractor, and the Tracker software (see the User Manual).
V. Procedure
(1) Set up the experiment as shown in Fig. 2, the line of sight of the camera should look
across the inclined plane.
Figure 2. The inclined plane experiment using a toy car.
(2) Place the toy car (with reflective sticker applied) on the inclined (θ = 30°). Let it slide
and use the camera to record the motion.
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(3) Import the video into the computer and use the Tracker to perform the analysis.
(4) Use Tracker to analyze the trajectory of the reflective sticker; find out how the sticker
moves with time, x(t). Differentiate x(t) with respect to time once to get the velocity
𝒂
v(t) of the car and twice to get its acceleration a. From the relation 𝑔 = 𝒔𝒊𝒏"#$ & to infer
the gravitational acceleration g.
(5) If the error is too large, you may want to discard the first several points and re-do the
analysis.
(6) Repeat the experiment with inclined angle θ = 10°,20°, and 45°; Find the g inferred
from each angle and discusses why they are different.
(7) Perform the free-falling experiment (θ = 90°) using the marble and infer the g value;
compare it to those obtained in the inclined plane experiment. If they are different,
explain why.
Tracker experiment: Please finish θ = 30°、10°、20°、45°.
Example chart:
Inclined angle θ = ____________； object：□slide car，□marble
t (s) X (m) Plot (X-t)
(Calculation)
g = ___________。
VI. Cautions
(1) Try to keep the toy car moving down the inclined in a straight line. The camera should
look across but along the inclined plane. By doing it properly, the car movement is quasi-
1D and the post-experiment analysis would be easier. The field of view of the camera
should cover the complete length of the inclined.
(2) For the free-falling experiment, use the marble NOT the toy car.
VII. References
(1) http://physics-animations.com/Physics/English/top10.htm
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Self-evaluation check list: Measurement of Gravitational Acceleration by
Tracker
After completing the experiment, use this check list to evaluate your grasp of the experiment. If
you have items that mark as “completely lost” or “very vague”, please re-examine the
experimental procedure, re-read the lab manual, or consult your TA or instructor to improve your
understanding of the content.
Item Fully mostly Vague Completely
understood understood lost
1. Know how to use the camera to record the
motion of a mechanical system
2. Know how to use Tracker software to
analyze the motion of an object
3. Know the key ideas behind the inclined
plane experiment
4. Understand why something you may
want to choose the proper range of data
for the data analysis and know why it will
yield a better result
Editor: Department of Physics,
National Cheng Kung University
Revision date: 2022/09 By Yi Yang
