Introduction

In Experiment 1, Motion on an Incline, you may have noticed that the slope of the v-t graph, which we call acceleration, increased as the height of the ramp increased. It seems reasonable that the maximum value of the acceleration could be obtained when the ramp was in a vertical position. In this experiment, you will use different apparatus to determine the acceleration of a freely falling object. Once you have done this, you will address the following questions:

• How do I decide if the value I obtained is “close enough” to the accepted value?
• If I were to repeat the experiment several times, within what range would I expect my values to fall?

This experiment affords you the opportunity to understand variations in experimentally determined data.

Objectives