One-Dimensional Motion with a

Constant Acceleration
Name:
Your Partners’ Names:
Date:

Purpose:
Study the relationships among position, velocity, and acceleration in one-dimensional motion with a
constant acceleration and apply the relationships to describe an object’s motion.

Required Equipment and Supplies

Introduction
All objects doing one-dimensional motion with a constant acceleration can be described by the following
two equations:

v f =v i +a ∆ t (eq1)
1
x f =xi + v i ∆ t+ a ∆t 2 (eq2)
2
These two equations contain all information of one-dimensional motion with a constant acceleration.

Equations like:

v 2f =v 2i +2 a ∆ x (eq3)

(v f + v i )
∆ x= ∆t (eq4)
2
are often seen and used. They can be directly derived from (eq1) and (eq2).
We will investigate the above equations in this lab. There are two parts in this lab. For each part, you first
follow the procedures to experimentally obtain data of final position x f and final velocity v f at various
time and plot x f vs time and v f vs time diagrams. You then go through the analysis to determine
acceleration based on x f vs time and v f vs time diagrams, obtain the percent difference, and answer all
questions. You briefly summarize your results at the end.

Part I
Step 1: Go to the website: https://physics.ccsu.edu/LEMAIRE/genphys/virtual_physics_labs.htm

Step 2: Select Motion with Constant Acceleration. A screen with a car in a one dimensional coordinate
system and various selections will show up in your PC.

Step 3: On the right side of the screen (green background), choose (a) initial position to be x i=0.000 m,
(b) initial velocity to be vi =0.000 m/s , and (c) acceleration to be a=2.000 m/ s 2.

Step 4: Run the simulation and record the data in Table 1.

Note:

(a) The final position and final velocity are shown on the bottom of the screen (yellow background)
and the time is shown in the first box of the three boxes right below the one-dimensional
coordinate system (yellow background).
(b) You can use “Pause” or “Slow motion” while you are recording data to prevent missing important
information.
(c) Table 1 only provides 18 empty boxes for the time starting from 0 to 10.000 s. You can create
your own tables to take more data.

Table. 1

t (s ) 0

x f ( m)

v f (m/ s)

t (s ) 10.000

x f ( m)

v f (m/ s)
Step 5: Plot the diagrams x vs t , v vs t . You can plot the diagrams with either Excel or other software.
These diagrams have been plotted on the screen, but I would like you to plot them based on the data in
Table 1.

Analysis
1. To obtain the acceleration from the diagram x vs t , do a quadratic fit to x vs t diagram and record
the coefficient of the quadratic term.

Coefficient of the quadratic term: ______________

Multiply the above coefficient by 2: ______________ (This is the acceleration from x vs t .)

Note: A quadratic function in general has the form: A x 2+ Bx+ C . The coefficient of the
quadratic term is the number A .

2. To obtain the acceleration from the diagram v vs t , do a linear fit to v vs t diagram and record the
coefficient of the linear term.

Coefficient of the linear term: ______________ (This is the acceleration from v vs t .)

Note: A linear function in general has the form: m x +b. The coefficient of the linear term is the
number m .

3. Using the acceleration from x vs t and (eq1) and (eq2) in Introduction, calculate the time it
would take for the object to travel 100.0 m.

Time t f ( s): _____________

Note: Use x i=0 m , vi =0 m/s , and t i=0 s in the calculation.

4. Using the time t f you found in the previous problem, calculate how fast the object would be
traveling.

Final velocity v f (m/ s): __________________

Note: Use x i=0 m , vi =0 m/s , and t i=0 s in the calculation.

5. Compute the percent difference (% Difference) of your two values for acceleration.

Percent difference (% Difference): ____________________

Note:
% Difference=¿ acceleration ¿ x vs t−acceleration ¿ v vs t ¿ v vs t ¿∨× 100
acceleration¿

Part II
Step 1: Go to the website: https://physics.ccsu.edu/LEMAIRE/genphys/virtual_physics_labs.htm

Step 2: Select Motion with Constant Acceleration. A screen with a car in a one dimensional coordinate
system and various selections will show up in your PC.

Step 3: On the right side of the screen (green background), choose (a) initial position to be x i=0.000 m,
(b) initial velocity to be vi =10.000 m/s, and (c) acceleration to be a=−2.000 m/s 2.

Step 4: Run the simulation and record the data in Table 2.

Note:

(a) The final position and final velocity are shown on the bottom of the screen (yellow background)
and the time is shown in the first box of the three boxes right below the one-dimensional
coordinate system (yellow background).
(b) You can use “Pause” or “Slow motion” while you are recording data to prevent missing important
information.
(c) Table 2 only provides 18 empty boxes for the time starting from 0 to 10.000 s. You can create
your own tables to take more data.

Table. 2

t (s ) 0

x f ( m)

v f (m/ s)

t (s ) 10.000

x f ( m)

v f (m/ s)

Step 5: Plot the diagrams x vs t , v vs t . You can plot the diagrams with either Excel or other software.
These diagrams have been plotted on the screen, but I would like you to plot them based on the data in
Table 2.

Analysis
1. To obtain the acceleration from the diagram x vs t , do a quadratic fit to x vs t diagram and record
the coefficient of the quadratic term.
 Coefficient of the quadratic term: ______________

Multiply the above coefficient by 2: ______________ (This is the acceleration from x vs t .)

Note: A quadratic function in general has the form: A x 2+ Bx+ C . The coefficient of the
quadratic term is the number A .

2. To obtain the acceleration from the diagram v vs t , do a linear fit to v vs t diagram and record the
coefficient of the linear term.

Coefficient of the linear term: ______________ (This is the acceleration from v vs t .)

Note: A linear function in general has the form: m x +b. The coefficient of the linear term is the
number m .

3. Using the acceleration from x vs t and (eq1) and (eq2) in Introduction, calculate the time it
would take for the object to have zero velocity.

Time t f ( s): _____________

Note: Use x i=0 m , vi =10.000 m/s, and t i=0 s in the calculation.

4. Using the time t f you found in the previous problem, calculate the position when the object has
zero velocity.

Final position x f ( m): __________________

Note: Use x i=0 m , vi =10.000 m/s, and t i=0 s in the calculation.

5. Compute the percent difference (% Difference) of your two values for acceleration.

Percent difference (% Difference): ____________________

Note:
% Difference=¿ acceleration ¿ x vs t−acceleration ¿ v vs t ¿ v vs t ¿∨× 100
acceleration¿

Brief Summary
Briefly summarize your results from Part I and Part II, noting any unexpected results.