BEHR FREE-FALL LAB

TEAM MEMBERS: Quang Lam Trinh, Lucas.

OBJECTIVE
To analyze the motion of an object in Free-Fall by:

1) Analyzing the corresponding equations of motion.

2) Calculating the velocity at different times by using:

a) the tangent method

b) the equation of motion x = x(t)
x
c) graphical methods ( v  lim )
t o t
3) Calculating the acceleration of gravity ‘g’ and comparing to the expected value of
9.80 m/s2.
THEORY
Any object moving under the influence of gravity alone, regardless of its initial position, is said to be
moving in free-fall. The acceleration of an object in free-fall near the earth’s surface is nearly constant and
approximately equal to g = 9.80 m/s2. In this lab you will analyze the motion of an object moving in free-
fall by using an apparatus called the Behr Free-Fall. The object moving in free-fall is a ‘bob’ that will
leave a trail of sparks on a wax paper as it falls through some height H. The sparks will be generated by a
spark timer set at a frequency of 60Hz (60 sparks per second). Thus, the trail of sparks on the wax paper
will be separated by (1/60)s. Using this information one can obtain data for the position as a function of
time for this object in free-fall and use the kinematic equations to analyze its motion.

EQUIPMENT

1. Behr Free-Fall Apparatus

2. Spark Timer
3. Power Supply
4. Tape
5. 2-meter stick
el ec trom ag n et

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PROCEDURE

1. Draw a circle starting with the 2nd or 3rd spark hole. Label this data point Xo. Now draw a circle
on every 6th spark hole for a total of 6 data points.
2. Make a graph of x vs. t with EXCEL for the 6 data points.

X (cm) t(s)
Xo to
X1 t1
X2 t2
X3 t3
X4 t4
X5 t5

3. Use EXCEL to obtain the equation of the best curve-fit for x vs. t graph.
4. Calculate Vo at to, V2 at t2, and V4 at t4 by drawing tangent lines to the curve x(t).
5. Use the equation x = x(t) obtained in (3) to calculate Vo, V2, and V4.
6. Calculate the acceleration of the ‘bob’ from the equation x = x(t).
7. Prove algebraically that the graph of Vave vs t is linear and show how the slope is related to the
acceleration of gravity ‘g’.
8. Make a graph of Vave vs t using EXCEL and obtain the equation of the best curve fit. Using the
above data table, the data points for the graph of Vave vs t correspond to the following:

Vave t
V01 = (X1 – Xo)/(t1 – t0) (t1 – t0)
V02 = (X2 – Xo)/(t2 – t0) (t2 – t0)
V03 = (X3 – Xo)/(t1 – t0) (t3 – t0)
V04 = (X4 – Xo)/(t1 – t0) (t4 – t0)
V05 = (X5 – Xo)/(t1 – t0) (t5 – t0)
V05 = (X6 – Xo)/(t1 – t0) (t6 – t0)

9. Calculate the acceleration of the ‘bob’ from the graph of Vave vs t.

10. Calculate the initial velocity Vo of the ‘bob’ from the graph of Vave vs t.
11. Calculate instantaneous velocity of the ‘bob’ V4 at t4 graphically.
12. Calculate instantaneous velocity of the ‘bob’ V2 at t2 graphically.
13. Compare the two calculated accelerations of the ‘bob’ to the expected value of g = 9.80 m/s2.
14. Compare the velocities at to, t2, and t4 using the 3 different methods.
15. Prove that if the acceleration is constant, then Vave over a time interval is equal to Vinst at the
midpoint of the time interval.

GRAPHS

1. x vs. t
2. Vave vs. t
3. Vave vs. t for V2 at X2
4. Vave vs. t for V4 at X4

1.

2
T(s) X(cm) Pictures

t0 = 0 X0 = 0

t1 = 0.1 X1 = 13.9

t2 = 0.2 X2 = 37.6

t3 = 0.3 X3 = 71.3

t4 = 0.4 X4 = 114.6

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2. Graph x vs t

X(cm) t(s)

X0 = 0 t0 = 0

X1 = 13.9 t1 = 0.1

X2 = 37.6 t2 = 0.2

X3 = 71.3 t3 = 0.3

X4 = 114.6 t4 = 0.4

X vs t graph

3. The equation of the best curve-fit for x vs.t graph:

4.

4
5.

6.

7.

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Because the object is under free fall, acceleration in this case is gravitational acceleration g.
From this formula, it can be seen that this is a degree one polynomial function, lead to a
linear graph. The slope is a half of the gravitational force g.

8.

Vave(cm/s) t(s)

V0 = 0 t0 = 0

V01 = 139 t1 = 0.1

V02 = 188 t2 = 0.2

V03 = 237.6 t3 = 0.3

V04 = 286.5 t4 = 0.4

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9.

10.

11.

Vave(cm/s) t(s)

V04 = 114.6/0.4 = 286.5 t1 = 0.4 – 0 = 0.4

V14 = (114.6-13.9) / 0.3 = 335.7 t2 = 0.4 – 0.1 = 0.3

V24 = (114.6-37.6) / 0.2 = 385 t3 = 0.4 – 0.2 = 0.2

V34 = (114.6 – 71.3) / 0.1 = 433 t4 = 0.4 – 0.3 = 0.1

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Base on the graph and equation, v4 = 482 cm/s

12.

Vave(cm/s) t(s)

V02 = 37.6 / 0.2 = 188 t1 = 0.2

V12 = (37.6 – 13.9) / 0.1 = 237 t2 = 0.2 – 0.1 = 0.1

V32 = (37.6 – 71.3) / (-0.1) = 337 t3 = 0.2 – 0.3 = -0.1

V42 = (37.6 – 114.6) / (-0.2) = 385 t4 = 0.2 - 0.4 = -0.2

Base on the graph and equation, v2 = 287 cm/s

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13.

Equipments Values of Expected Error percentage

gravitational value of
acceleration gravitational
acceleration
X vs t graph 982 cm/s2 979.99368
cm/s2

V vs t graph 984 cm/s2 979.99368

cm/s2

14.

Methods V0 V2 V4

Value Error % Value Error % Value Error %

(cm/s) (cm/s) (cm/s)

Tangent 105 cm/s 16.67% 290 cm/s 1.25% 485 cm/s 0.46%
line

Derivative 90 cm/s N/A 286.4 cm/s N/A 482.8 cm/s N/A

Using graph 89.8 cm/s -0.22% 287 cm/s 0.21% 482 cm/s -0.17%

15.

Average velocity formula:

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Velocity at midpoint formula:

Therefore, if the acceleration is constant, then Vave over a time interval is equal to
Vinst at the midpoint of the time interval.

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