Position, Velocity and Acceleration

The physical quantities of position, velocity and acceleration allow us to study the physics of
objects in motion. With these three quantities the motion of objects of all sizes from bacteria to
galaxies can be understood. These three quantities are all related to each other. The average velocity
𝑣𝑣̅ is defined as
𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥
𝑣𝑣̅ = (1)
𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥
where Δ𝑥𝑥 is the change in position and 𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥 is the change in time. Similarly the average acceleration
𝑎𝑎� is defined as
𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥
𝑎𝑎� = (2)
𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥
where Δ𝑣𝑣 is the change in velocity. Therefore, if we make a plot of the position of an object as a
function of time, the slope of this graph will give the average velocity. The slope of a graph of the
velocity as a function of time gives the average acceleration. Furthermore, if the acceleration is
constant, we can find the position of an object as a function of time using
1
𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥 = 𝑥𝑥𝑓𝑓 − 𝑥𝑥0 = 𝑣𝑣0 𝑡𝑡 + 2𝑎𝑎𝑡𝑡 2 (3)
where 𝑥𝑥0 is the initial position, 𝑥𝑥𝑓𝑓 is the final position and 𝑣𝑣0 is the initial velocity. In this lab we will
be measuring the position of objects as a function of time using a tape timer and photogates. From
these measurements, we will find the velocity and acceleration of the objects.

A photogate consists of an infrared beam that is interrupted by objects passing through it. By
measuring the time that an object takes to travel from one gate to another or through one gate, its
velocity can be determined. A tape timer works by making a mark on a piece of tape at well-defined
intervals of time. By measuring the distance between these marks, the position of the object as a
function of time is determined. Using this position data, we will calculate and graph the velocity and
acceleration of the object using the above equations.

Goals of the this lab:

• Measure the size of various objects
• Learn how to determine velocity using photogates
• Analyze the motion of a cart using a tape timer
• Understand the relationships between position, velocity and acceleration

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 Position, velocity and acceleration

Lab equipment:
Rulers and Calipers
These will be used to measure distances in the room
and the size of various objects.

Photogates
The photogates have an infrared sensor in them that
detects the motion of objects through them. They will
be used to measure time.

Tape timer
The tape timer produces marks on a piece of paper
every 0.1 or 0.025 seconds. They will be used to
record the motion of carts on the track.

Track
These are 1.2 meter long tracks for the carts to travel
along.

Cart
These carts move along the track and have a mass of
500 grams.

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 Position, velocity and acceleration

Lab Procedures

I. Measuring lengths
When measuring the size of an object it is important to have the correct tools. We would not want
to measure the width of your hair with a meter stick or the length of a football field with a caliper.
Matching the tool with the measurement that needs to be done is critical for obtaining accurate
results. You have several different measuring tools at your workstation ranging from a 2-meter stick
to a 12 inch ruler to a caliper. Use them to measure the following lengths and record them in the
worksheet at the end of this lab. Remember that all measurements must include the units to be
meaningful.
 Measure the length and width of the room.
 Measure your height.
 Measure the distance from the tip of your outstretched hand to your elbow (This is traditionally
called a cubit).
 Find a part of your hand that has a dimension of about 0.1 meters (10 cm).
 Find a part of your hand that has a dimension of about 0.01 meters (1 cm).
 Find an object that you carry around that has a dimension of about 0.001 meters (1 mm).

II. Determining velocity using photogates

We do not have any sensors that can directly measure the velocity of an object. In order to
determine the velocity, we need to measure the change in position in some interval of time. For the
remainder of the lab, we will be measuring the velocity of objects using photogates and tape timers.
In this first section we will use a set of photogates to measure the velocity of your finger.
• Set the photogates 1 meter apart with the gap pointed upward so that they form a U-shape. Both
photogates need to be connected to the timing unit. The setup should look like the picture below.

• Set the timer to the Pulse mode and the 1 ms resolution. Turn the memory ON. In this
configuration the timer starts running when an object (your finger in this case) passes through the
first gate and stops when an object passes through the second gate. The timer then reads the
interval of time required for the object to pass between the first and second gates. Below is a
picture of the timer. The distance between the gates is known, so you can calculate the average
velocity of the object.

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 Position, velocity and acceleration

• Move your finger at 1 m/s from the first gate to

the second one. What should be the reading on
the timer?
• Move your finger at 2 m/s. What should be the
reading on the timer?
• Move your finger at ½ m/s. What should be the
reading on the timer?

Now we are going to see how fast you can move

an object through the photogates. In this
measurement, we are only going to use one photogate.
• Set the timer to the Gate mode and the 0.1 ms resolution. Turn the memory ON. In this
configuration the timer starts running when on object (the meter stick in this case) blocks the
infrared beam. The timer continues to run as long as the beam is blocked. After the object leaves
the gate, the timer reads the interval of time that the beam was blocked. If you know the size of
the object, you can calculate its velocity when passing through the photogate.
 Measure the width of the meter stick.
 See how fast you can move the width of the meter stick through the photogate.
 Repeat these measurements for the thickness of the meter stick.
 Calculate the maximum velocities for the width and thickness on the worksheet.

III. Analyzing motion using tape timers

In the rest of the lab, we will use tape timers to analyze the motion of carts on level and inclined
tracks. The tape timer works by having a paper tape slide through the timer and marks are recorded
every 0.1 seconds in the 10 Hz mode (every 0.025 seconds in the 40 Hz mode). You will be
measuring the distance between these marks for a level and inclined track.
• Place the track in the location you want to use it. Make sure it is level using the level at your
workstation. The feet at the bottom of the track are adjustable to level it.
• Place one photogate at each end of the track. They should be more than 1 meter apart as they will
hold the tape for the tape timer.
• Cut a piece of tape that is long enough to go from one
photogate to the other.
• Thread the tape through the tape timer as shown in the
picture. You should make sure that the tape goes through
the slotted tabs on the sides of the timer and under the
carbon disk.
• Place the tape timer on top of the cart on the track.
• Adjust the heights of the photogates so that the tape runs
parallel to the track. Use masking tape to hold the paper
tape to the two photogates. It should not sag or be pulled
upwards by the photogates or cart. The setup should look like the picture below. Everything is
setup correctly if the cart can move freely from one end of the track to the other.

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 Position, velocity and acceleration

• Move the cart to one end of the track and set the tape timer to the 10 Hz setting.
• Give the cart a gentle push so that it moves to the other end of the track.
• Examine the paper tape. There should be a series of dots on it. If there are no dots, make sure
that everything has been setup correctly. See if you can identify and fix the problem. If not, ask
your TA for help.
• Make sure that you have at least 15 dots on the paper to analyze. If you have too few points,
repeat the above procedure with a new piece of paper but give the cart a gentler push this time. It
should take the cart about 2 seconds to travel the length of the track.

IV. Analysis of level track data

Now we are going to analyze the data that you have acquired to find the position and velocity
of the cart as a function of time. Label each dot starting with 1 for the starting location of the cart.
On TABLE #1 of the worksheet, fill out the following quantities.
 Write the dot number.
 Calculate the time since the cart started. Remember that the dots are equally spaced in time.
 Measure the distance from the starting position to the current dot.
 Calculate the separation between the current dot and the previous one. This is the change in
position of the cart, ∆xn.
 Calculate the velocity of the cart at the current dot using the change in position and change in
time from the previous dot. Recall that the velocity at position n is calculated as
𝛥𝛥𝑥𝑥𝑛𝑛 𝑥𝑥𝑛𝑛 − 𝑥𝑥𝑛𝑛−1
𝑣𝑣𝑛𝑛 = = (4)
𝛥𝛥𝑡𝑡𝑛𝑛 𝑡𝑡𝑛𝑛 − 𝑡𝑡𝑛𝑛−1
 Make a plot of the position of the cart as a function of time. This plot should be hand drawn.
This should be labeled as GRAPH #1 and attached to your worksheet. From this plot, you can
measure the slope to obtain the velocity of the cart.
 Make a plot of the velocity of the cart as a function of time. This plot should be hand drawn.
This should be labeled as GRAPH #2 and attached to your worksheet. How does the velocity on
this graph compare to the slope you extracted from GRAPH #1?

The last part of the lab is to measure the motion of the cart on an incline. We will use a wooden
block at one end of the track to create an incline for the cart to roll down.
• Place the 4 cm high wooden block under the foot of the track at the far end from the stop.
• Setup the tape timer using the same method as for the level track. However, now the photogates
will need to be at different heights. Once again, the tape should be parallel to the track.

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 Position, velocity and acceleration

• Start the tape timer on the 10 Hz setting and release the cart from the raised end of the track.
Make sure that the cart starts from rest.
• Catch the cart at the end.
• Make sure that your tape has at least 15 dots on it.

V. Analysis of inclined track data

Now we are going to analyze the data that you have acquired to find the position, velocity and
acceleration of the cart as a function of time. Label each dot starting with 1 for the starting location
of the cart. On TABLE #2 on the worksheet, fill out the following quantities.
 Fill out all of the quantities that you did for TABLE #1, dot number, time, distance, ∆xn and vn.
 Calculate the time squared, 𝑡𝑡 2 , since the cart started moving.
 Using the calculated velocities at each point, find the change in velocity at each point.
 Calculate the acceleration of the cart at the current dot using the change in velocity and change
in time from the previous dot. Recall that the acceleration at position n is calculated as
𝛥𝛥𝑣𝑣𝑛𝑛 𝑣𝑣𝑛𝑛 − 𝑣𝑣𝑛𝑛−1
𝑎𝑎𝑛𝑛 = = (5)
𝛥𝛥𝑡𝑡𝑛𝑛 𝑡𝑡𝑛𝑛 − 𝑡𝑡𝑛𝑛−1

Now we are going to make a series of plots of the motion of the cart as a function of time. All of the
graphs should be hand drawn.
 Make a plot of the position of the cart as a function of time. This should be labeled as GRAPH
#3 and attached to your worksheet.
 Make a plot of the position of the cart as a function of time squared. This should be labeled as
GRAPH #4 and attached to your worksheet. From this plot, extract the slope which is half the
acceleration.
 Make a plot of the velocity of the cart as a function of time. This should be labeled as GRAPH
#5 and attached to your worksheet. From this plot, extract the slope which is the acceleration.
 Make a plot of the acceleration of the cart as a function of time. This should be labeled as
GRAPH #6 and attached to your worksheet.

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 Name:_________________________

Date:__________________________

Position, velocity and acceleration worksheet

I. Measuring lengths
Put your measurements in the table below. Do not forget to include units will all the values.
Length of room Width of room Your height “Cubit”

Identify the objects measured and their size in the table below.
Object that is ~0.1 m Object that is ~0.01 m Object that is ~0.001 m

II. Determining velocity using photogates

Write the readings on the timer for the following velocities of your finger.
1 m/s 2 m/s ½ m/s

Put your measurements for the velocity of the meter stick in the following table. Do not forget to
include units with all the values.

Width of meter stick

Shortest time for width
Greatest velocity for width

Thickness of meter stick

Shortest time for thickness
Greatest velocity for thickness

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 Worksheet: Position, velocity and acceleration

III. Analyzing motion using tape timers

IV. Level track data

Fill out TABLE #1 below with the data from the level track. The units of each quantity can be given
just once in the label of the column as shown. All of your graphs must be hand drawn.
Dot tn xn ∆xn vn
number (s) (m) (m) (m/s)

Attach a plot of the position of the cart as a function of time. This should be labeled as GRAPH #1.
Extract the slope of this plot.____________________________
Attach a plot of the velocity of the cart as a function of time. This should be labeled as GRAPH #2.

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 Worksheet: Position, velocity and acceleration

V. Inclined track data

Fill out TABLE #2 below with the data from the inclined track. Give the units of each quantity in
the label of the column as done in TABLE #1. All of your graphs must be hand drawn.
Dot tn t2n xn ∆xn vn ∆vn an
number

Attach a plot of the position of the cart as a function of time. This should be labeled as GRAPH #3.

Attach a plot of the position of the cart as a function of time squared. This should be labeled as
GRAPH #4. Extract the slope of this plot.___________________________

Attach a plot of the velocity of the cart as a function of time. This should be labeled as GRAPH #5.
Extract the slope of this plot.______________________________

Attach a plot of the acceleration of the cart as a function of time. This should be labeled as GRAPH
#6.

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 Worksheet: Position, velocity and acceleration

Questions
1. How does the velocity plotted on GRAPH #2 compare to the slope you extracted from GRAPH
#1?

2. From the graphs that you made for the inclined track, how would you find the initial velocity of
the cart?

3. Compare the slopes extracted from GRAPH #4 and GRAPH #5 with the acceleration measured
in GRAPH #6. Are they similar? Is this expected?

4. The acceleration of a block on an incline in the absence of friction is related to the angle of the
incline by the equation, 𝑎𝑎 = 𝑔𝑔 sin 𝜃𝜃 where 𝜃𝜃 is the incline angle and 𝑔𝑔 is the acceleration due to
gravity. Assuming this equation is correct, use your measured acceleration to determine the value
of 𝑔𝑔? Recall that you used a 4 cm block under one end of a 1.2 meter long track. How does your
value compare to the actual value of 𝑔𝑔 = 9.8 m/s 2 ?

5. Looking at a set of dots on a paper tape, how can you tell if the track is level or inclined? What
happens to the spacing of the dots if the angle of the incline is increased?

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Position, Velocity and Acceleration
Lab Report

Brian LeRoy

Lab Partner: Whoever sat next to me

Course: PHYS181-001

TA: Unknown Graduate Student

Due Date: 8:00 AM on 06/04/2013

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 Position, velocity and acceleration report

Abstract
We measured the size, velocity and acceleration of various objects. We analyzed the motion
of carts on level and inclined tracks using carbon tape timers. We found that the cart moved with
a nearly constant speed of 0.48 m/s on a level track. On the inclined track, the cart accelerated
with an acceleration of 0.34 m/s2.

Introduction
In this lab, we are measuring the position, velocity and acceleration of a cart moving along a
track. In the first portion of the lab, this is done with a level track where we expect that the velocity
of the cart to be constant. In the second part of the lab, we used an inclined track so that the cart
accelerates. We can measure the acceleration of this cart by observing its change in position as a
function of time. The position, velocity and acceleration of an object can all be related using the
kinematic equations of motion as long as the acceleration is constant. In this lab, we will be using
these two equations to calculate the velocity and acceleration of the cart after measuring its position
as a function of time.

Procedure
We wanted to measure the velocity and acceleration of carts using tape timers. The tape timers
work by creating a carbon dot on a piece of paper at well-defined intervals of time. In this lab, we
used the 10 Hz setting so that the timers made 10 marks per second on the paper. In the first part
of the lab, we used a level track for the cart. The schematic of the setup is shown in Figure 1
below. The cart was started on the left hand side of the track. The tape timer was turned on and
the cart was given a gentle push so that it moved to the right hand side. Once the cart reached the
right hand side, the tape timer was turned off. We examined the tape to make sure that the timer
created a series of dots. To find the position and velocity of the cart we measured the positions
and separations of the dots on the tape.

Figure 1. Schematic for the level track experiment showing cart, tape timer, track
and paper tape.
For the second part of the lab, we used a slightly inclined track. The schematic of the setup
for this portion of the lab is shown in Figure 2 below. The left hand side of the track was inclined
using a 4 cm high block of wood. The tape timer was turned on and the cart was released from
rest. When the cart reached the bottom of the track, the tape timer was turned off. Once again, we
examined the tape to make sure that the timer created a series of dots on the tape. To find the
position, velocity and acceleration of the cart, we measured the dots on the tape as discussed below.

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 Position, velocity and acceleration report

Figure 2. Schematic for the inclined track experiment showing cart, tape timer,
track, paper tape and block.

Theory
In this lab, we measured the separation between dots created by the tape timers. We needed to
convert these separations into the velocity and acceleration of the cart as a function of time. The
tape timers create dots at constant intervals of time. Therefore, we can determine the average
velocity 𝑣𝑣̅ of the cart between two dots as
𝛥𝛥𝑥𝑥𝑛𝑛 𝑥𝑥𝑛𝑛 − 𝑥𝑥𝑛𝑛−1
𝑣𝑣̅ = = (1)
𝛥𝛥𝑡𝑡𝑛𝑛 𝑡𝑡𝑛𝑛 − 𝑡𝑡𝑛𝑛−1
where Δ𝑥𝑥𝑛𝑛 is the separation between the nth and (n-1)th dot and 𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥𝑛𝑛 is the change in time between
those dots. Similarly, we can determine the average acceleration 𝑎𝑎� of the cart
𝛥𝛥𝑣𝑣𝑛𝑛 𝑣𝑣𝑛𝑛 − 𝑣𝑣𝑛𝑛−1
𝑎𝑎� = = (2)
𝛥𝛥𝑡𝑡𝑛𝑛 𝑡𝑡𝑛𝑛 − 𝑡𝑡𝑛𝑛−1
where Δ𝑣𝑣𝑛𝑛 is the change in velocity between the nth and n-1 dot and 𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥𝑛𝑛 is the change in time
between those dots.
We can also determine the velocity and acceleration of the cart using the kinematic equations.
The position of the cart as a function of time is given by
1
𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥 = 𝑥𝑥𝑓𝑓 − 𝑥𝑥0 = 𝑣𝑣0 𝑡𝑡 + 2𝑎𝑎𝑡𝑡 2 (3)
where 𝑥𝑥0 is the initial position, 𝑥𝑥𝑓𝑓 is the final position and 𝑣𝑣0 is the initial velocity. If we start the
cart from the origin (𝑥𝑥0 = 0) and on a level track with no acceleration (𝑎𝑎 = 0), this equation
simplifies to
𝑥𝑥𝑓𝑓 = 𝑣𝑣0 𝑡𝑡 (4)
So, we can obtain the velocity of the cart from the slope of the graph of position as a function of
time.
When the cart is on an incline, it will accelerate. However, we start the cart from rest (𝑣𝑣0 =
0), so equation (3) becomes
1
𝑥𝑥𝑓𝑓 = 2𝑎𝑎𝑡𝑡 2 (5)
Then from the slope of the graph of position versus time squared, we obtain the acceleration of the
cart. We can also obtain the acceleration of the cart using the equation for the velocity of the cart
as a function of time,

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 Position, velocity and acceleration report

𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥 = 𝑣𝑣𝑓𝑓 − 𝑣𝑣0 = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 (6)

So, if the cart starts from rest 𝑣𝑣0 = 0, we can simplify equation (6) to read,
𝑣𝑣𝑓𝑓 = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 (7)
Therefore, the slope of a plot of the velocity as a function of time gives the acceleration of the
cart.

Sample Calculation and Results

We have measured the position of the cart as a function of time for both the level track and the
inclined track. The raw data is shown in table #1 for the level track and table #2 for the inclined
track. These tables are attached at the end of the report. As a dot was created every 0.1 seconds,
we have calculated the time by multiplying the dot number by 0.1 s. We have measured the
position of the dots from the first point to calculate the displacement of the cart.
For the level track data, we have plotted the position of the cart as a function of time in graph
#1. The slope of the best fit line to this plot gave us the average velocity of the cart and it was
0.479 ± 0.004 m/s. We have calculated the average velocity of the cart between each pair of dots
using equation (1). We have determined the velocity between the first pair of points as follows
𝛥𝛥𝑥𝑥1 𝑥𝑥1 − 𝑥𝑥0 0.052 m − 0 m 0.052 m
𝑣𝑣1 = = = = ⁄s = 0.52 m⁄s (8)
𝛥𝛥𝑡𝑡1 𝑡𝑡1 − 𝑡𝑡0 0.1 s − 0 s 0.1
The velocities at the other locations were calculated in a similar manner. In graph #2, we plotted
this calculated velocity of the cart as a function of time. We see that the cart slows done slightly
as a function of time. From our data the average velocity was 0.48 ± 0.03 m/s.
For the inclined track, we once again plotted the position of the cart as a function of time. This
is shown in graph #3. This graph is parabolic showing that the cart is accelerating as it moves
down the track. We have re-plotted this position data as a function of time squared in graph #4.
This graph is now linear and we can fit a straight line to the data to give the average acceleration
of the cart. We find that the best fit line has a slope of 0.188 ± 0.001 m/s2. The acceleration of
the cart is twice this slope, so we find an acceleration of 0.376 ± 0.002 m/s2. We have calculated
the velocity of the cart as a function of time using equation (1) in the same manner as the level
track. The results are plotted in graph #5. We find that the velocity of the cart linearly increases
with time. The slope of the best fit line gives the acceleration of the cart. We find the slope is
0.346 ± 0.002 m/s2. Lastly, we calculated the acceleration of the cart from the change in velocity
using equation (2). We have determined the acceleration at the second point as follows
𝛥𝛥𝑣𝑣2 𝑣𝑣2 − 𝑣𝑣1 0.012 m⁄s − 0.013 m⁄s −0.001 m
𝑎𝑎2 = = = = �s2 = −0.01 m�s2 (9)
𝛥𝛥𝑡𝑡2 𝑡𝑡2 − 𝑡𝑡1 0.2 s − 0.1 s 0.1
The accelerations at the other locations were calculated in a similar manner. The results are plotted
in graph #6. We see that the acceleration is nearly constant as a function of time but it is slightly
smaller near the end of the data. We found an average acceleration of 0.34 ± 0.07 m/s2.

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 Position, velocity and acceleration report

Discussion and Conclusions

We found that the velocity of the cart was relatively constant on the level track. We could tell
this because the separation between adjacent dots was constant throughout the length of the track
as seen in graph #1. This means that the velocity determined from the slope of the position as a
function of time was nearly the same as the values found by using equation (1) to calculate the
velocity from the change in position. There was a slight difference because the cart was slowing
down near the end of the track as can be seen in graph #2. This negative acceleration was probably
due to some friction either in the wheels of the cart or because of the paper going through the tape
timer.
When the cart was released from an inclined track, the velocity of the cart continually
increased. The dots on the paper became more and more spread apart as the cart moved down the
track. This means that its velocity was constantly increasing. In other words, the cart was
accelerating. If the acceleration of the cart was higher, then the dots would become spaced out
more quickly. We found that the acceleration of the cart as determined using graphs #4-6 were all
consistent with each other. This means that any of the methods will work for determining the
acceleration of the cart. However, the errors were largest when using equation (2) to calculate the
acceleration. This is because our 1 mm uncertainty in determining the position of the cart gets
amplified when it is divided by the time interval twice. Our value for the acceleration was in
reasonable agreement with the expected value of 0.33 m/s2 from the angle of the incline. Our
values were slightly higher which may be caused by the block being slightly higher than 4 cm or
the track being shorter than 1.2 m. Either of these errors would cause the angle of the track to be
slightly larger and therefore we would expect a larger acceleration.
From our graphs of the velocity as a function of time, graph #5, we can determine the initial
velocity of the cart. This is given by the y-intercept of the graph which was approximately 0.
Therefore, our cart started from rest. We could also find this initial velocity by looking at graph
#3. The slope of this graph at 𝑡𝑡 = 0 gives the initial velocity of the cart.
There was an uncertainty of 1 mm for each of our measurements of the position of the cart.
This uncertainty arose from the markings on the ruler that we used. The error bars on the graphs
of position versus time (graph#1, #3 and #4) are all 1 mm in height. This 1 mm uncertainty in
position becomes an error of 10√2 mm/s for the velocity that is plotted in graphs #2 and #5. The
square root of 2 is because both position measurements that are used to calculate the velocity have
a 1 mm error and these errors add in quadrature. The factor of 10 is because the time interval is
1/10 of a second. Lastly, we have an error of 200 mm/s2 for the acceleration. Once again this is
due to both measurements of the velocity having the same error and adding them in quadrature.

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 Worksheet: Position, velocity and acceleration

Position, velocity and acceleration worksheet

VI. Measuring lengths

Put your measurements in the table below. Do not forget to include units will all the values.
Length of room Width of room Your height “Cubit”
10.81 m 6.59 m 1.80 m 48 mm

Identify the objects measured and their size in the table below.
Object that is ~0.1 m Object that is ~0.01 m Object that is ~0.001 m
Index finger Fingernail 10 sheets of paper

VII. Determining velocity using photogates

Write the readings on the timer for the following velocities of your finger.
1 m/s 2 m/s ½ m/s
1.000 s 0.500 s 2.000 s

Put your measurements for the velocity of the meter stick in the following table. Do not forget to
include units with all the values.

Width of meter stick 25.4 mm

Shortest time for width 0.0075 s
Greatest velocity for width 3.39 m/s

Thickness of meter stick 6.0 mm

Shortest time for thickness 0.0024 s
Greatest velocity for thickness 2.50 m/s

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 Worksheet: Position, velocity and acceleration

VIII. Analyzing motion using tape timers

IX. Level track data

Fill out TABLE #1 below with the data from the level track. The units of each quantity can be
given just once in the label of the column as shown. All of your graphs must be hand drawn.
Dot tn xn ∆xn vn
number (s) (m) (m) (m/s)
0 0 0 ----- -----
1 0.10 0.052 0.052 0.52
2 0.20 0.104 0.052 0.52
3 0.30 0.155 0.051 0.51
4 0.40 0.206 0.051 0.51
5 0.50 0.256 0.050 0.50
6 0.60 0.305 0.049 0.49
7 0.70 0.354 0.049 0.49
8 0.80 0.402 0.048 0.48
9 0.90 0.449 0.047 0.47
10 1.00 0.496 0.047 0.47
11 1.10 0.542 0.046 0.46
12 1.20 0.587 0.045 0.45
13 1.30 0.631 0.044 0.44
14 1.40 0.675 0.044 0.44
15 1.50 0.717 0.042 0.42

Attach a plot of the position of the cart as a function of time. This should be labeled as GRAPH
#1. Extract the slope of this plot._______ 𝟎𝟎. 𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒 ± 𝟎𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎 m/s _____________

Attach a plot of the velocity of the cart as a function of time. This should be labeled as GRAPH
#2.

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 Worksheet: Position, velocity and acceleration

X. Inclined track data

Fill out TABLE #2 below with the data from the inclined track. Give the units of each quantity
in the label of the column as done in TABLE #1. All of your graphs must be hand drawn.
Dot tn t2n xn ∆xn vn ∆vn an
number (s) (s2) (m) (m) (m/s) (m/s) (m/s2)
0 0 0 0 ----- ----- ----- -----
1 0.10 0.010 0.013 0.013 0.13 ----- -----
2 0.20 0.040 0.025 0.012 0.12 -0.01 -0.1
3 0.30 0.090 0.040 0.015 0.15 0.03 0.3
4 0.40 0.16 0.059 0.019 0.19 0.04 0.4
5 0.50 0.25 0.081 0.022 0.22 0.03 0.3
6 0.60 0.36 0.107 0.026 0.26 0.04 0.4
7 0.70 0.49 0.136 0.029 0.29 0.03 0.3
8 0.80 0.64 0.169 0.033 0.33 0.04 0.4
9 0.90 0.81 0.206 0.037 0.37 0.04 0.4
10 1.00 1.00 0.246 0.040 0.40 0.03 0.3
11 1.10 1.21 0.289 0.043 0.43 0.03 0.3
12 1.20 1.44 0.336 0.047 0.47 0.04 0.4
13 1.30 1.69 0.387 0.051 0.51 0.04 0.4
14 1.40 1.96 0.441 0.054 0.54 0.03 0.3
15 1.50 2.25 0.498 0.057 0.57 0.03 0.3
16 1.60 2.56 0.559 0.061 0.59 0.04 0.4
17 1.70 2.89 0.624 0.065 0.65 0.04 0.4
18 1.80 3.24 0.691 0.067 0.67 0.02 0.2
19 1.90 3.61 0.762 0.071 0.71 0.04 0.4
20 2.00 4.00 0.836 0.074 0.74 0.03 0.3
21 2.10 4.41 0.912 0.076 0.76 0.02 0.2

Attach a plot of the position of the cart as a function of time. This should be labeled as GRAPH
#3.

Attach a plot of the position of the cart as a function of time squared. This should be labeled as
GRAPH #4. Extract the slope of this plot.________ 𝟎𝟎. 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 ± 𝟎𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎 m/s2___________

Attach a plot of the velocity of the cart as a function of time. This should be labeled as GRAPH
#5. Extract the slope of this plot._________ 𝟎𝟎. 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑 ± 𝟎𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎 m/s2_________

Attach a plot of the acceleration of the cart as a function of time. This should be labeled as
GRAPH #6.

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