Determining g on an Incline

During the early part of the seventeenth century, Galileo experimentally examined the concept of
acceleration. One of his goals was to learn more about freely falling objects. Unfortunately, his
timing devices were not precise enough to allow him to study free fall directly. Therefore, he
decided to limit the acceleration by using fluids, inclined planes, and pendulums. In this
experiment, you will see how the acceleration of a rolling ball or cart depends on the incline
angle. Then, you will use your data to extrapolate to the acceleration on a vertical “incline;” that
is, the acceleration of a ball in free fall.

If the angle of an incline with the horizontal is small, a cart rolling down the incline moves
slowly and can be easily timed. Using time and position data, it is possible to calculate the
acceleration of the cart. When the angle of the incline is increased, the acceleration also
increases. The acceleration is directly proportional to the sine of the incline angle, θ. A graph of
acceleration versus sin(θ) can be extrapolated to a point where the value of sin(θ) is 1. When
sin(θ) is 1, the angle of the incline is 90°. This is equivalent to free fall. The acceleration during
free fall can then be determined from the graph.

Galileo was able to measure acceleration only for small angles. You will collect similar data.
Can these data be used in extrapolation to determine a useful value of g, the acceleration of free
fall? We will see how valid this extrapolation can be. Rather than measuring time, as Galileo did,
you will use a Motion Detector to determine the acceleration. You will make quantitative
measurements of the motion of a cart rolling down inclines of various small angles. From these
measurements, you should be able to decide for yourself whether an extrapolation to large angles
is valid.

Figure 1

Objectives
• Use a Motion Detector to measure the velocity and acceleration of a cart rolling down an
incline.
• Determine the mathematical relationship between the angle of an incline and the
acceleration of a cart rolling down the incline.
• Determine the value of free fall acceleration, g, by using an extrapolation on the
acceleration vs. sine of track angle graph.
• Determine if an extrapolation of the acceleration vs. sine of track angle is valid.
MATERIALS
computer
Vernier computer interface
Logger Pro
Vernier Motion Detector
Vernier Dynamics Track
Motion Detector Bracket
Adjustable End Stop
Vernier Dynamics Cart
hard ball, approximately 8 cm diameter
rubber ball, similar size
meter stick
books
a ball

PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS
1. One of the timing devices Galileo used was his pulse. Drop a rubber ball from a height of
about 2 m and try to determine how many pulse beats elapsed before it hits the ground. What
was the timing problem that Galileo encountered?

Your answer:

2. Now measure the time it takes for the rubber ball to fall 2 m, using a watch or clock with a
second hand or seconds display. Did the results improve substantially?

Your answer:

3. Roll the hard ball down an incline that makes an angle of about 10° with the horizontal. First
use your pulse and then your watch or clock to measure the time of descent.

4. Do you think that during Galileo’s day it was possible to get useful data for any of these
experiments? Why?

Your answer:

PROCEDURE
1. Connect the Motion Detector to a digital (DIG) port of the interface. Set the Motion Detector
sensitivity switch to Track.
 2. Set up the equipment such that the Dynamics Track forms a small angle with the horizontal
(see Figure 1). Adjust the points of contact of the two ends of the incline so that the distance,
x, in Figure 1, is between 1 and 2 m.

3. Place the Motion Detector at the top of the incline. Position it so the Dynamics Cart will
never be closer than 0.15 m.

4. Open the file “Determining g” from the eCampus.

5. Hold the cart on the incline about 0.25 m from the Motion Detector.

6. Click to start data collection; release the cart after the Motion Detector starts to click.
Move your hand out of the Motion Detector path quickly. You may have to adjust the
position and aim of the Motion Detector several times before you get it right. Adjust and
repeat this step until you get a good run showing an approximately constant slope on the
velocity vs. time graph during the rolling of the cart.

7. Fit a straight line to a portion of your data. First, select the portion by dragging across the
graph to indicate the starting and ending times. Then, click Linear Fit, , to perform a linear
regression of the selected data. Use this tool to determine the slope of the velocity vs. time
graph using only the portion of the data for times when the cart was freely rolling. From the
fitted line, find the acceleration of the cart. Record the value in your data table.

8. Repeat Steps 5–7 two more times.

9. Measure the length of the incline, x, which is the distance between the two contact points of
the incline (see Figure 1). Record the length in your data table.

10. Measure the height, h (see Figure 1). Record the height in your data table. These last two
measurements will be used to determine the angle of the incline.

11. Raise the incline keeping the distance, x, the same as the previous reading.

12. Repeat Steps 5–10 for the new incline.

13. Repeat Steps 5–11 for 4 other angles.

DATA TABLE
Data # Height h (m) Length of incline, x sin(θ) Acceleration Average
(m) acceleration
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 (m/s2)
(m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2)

ANALYSIS
1. Using trigonometry and your values of x and h in the data table, calculate the sine of the
incline angle for each height. Note that x is the hypotenuse of a right triangle.

2. Calculate the average acceleration for each height. Plot a graph of the average acceleration
(y-axis) vs. sin(θ). Use Page 3 of the experiment file. Carry the horizontal axis out to sin(θ) =
1 (one) to leave room for extrapolation.

3. Draw a best-fit line by hand or use the proportional fit feature of Logger Pro and determine
the slope. The slope can be used to determine the acceleration of the cart on an incline of any
angle.

Write down the best fit equation:

4. On the graph, carry the fitted line out to sin(90°) = 1 on the horizontal axis and read the value
of the acceleration.1 This is the experimental value of the Earth’s gravitational acceleration g.

Experimental g (at sin(90°) = 1) = ______________

1
Notice that extrapolating to the y value at the x = 1 point is equivalent to using the slope of the fitted line.
5. How well does the extrapolated value agree with the accepted value of free-fall acceleration
(g (actual) = 9.80665 m/s2)? Calculate the percent error. Show all your work.

% error = ___________________

Congratulations! You’ve just measured the acceleration due to gravity at Eastfield Campus.

6. Discuss the validity of extrapolating the acceleration value to an angle of 90°.

 Measuring g Using Video Analysis
OBJECTIVES
In this experiment, you will
• Use video analysis techniques to obtain position, velocity, and time data for an object
under the influence of the force of earth’s gravity.
• Analyze the position vs. time and velocity vs. time graphs.
• Determine the best fit equations for the position vs. time and velocity vs. time graphs.
• Relate the parameters in the best-fit equations for position vs. time and velocity vs. time
graphs to their physical counterparts in the system.
• Produce a movie of an object undergoing free fall motion.

PART 1 – PRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS OF YOUR OWN MOVIE

PROCEDURE
You will use your cell phone to make a video of a ball thrown straight up, such that it goes to the
maximum height and returns under the influence of the Earth’s gravity. Keep the following tips
in mind when you shoot your movie.

1. It is best to have a plain background that provides sufficient contrast with the free falling
ball. Good lighting is essential.

2. Set up the camera on a table/chair so that it is looking square at the background, and so that
the plane of motion is perpendicular to the view.

3. Position the camera as far from the plane of motion as is practical to reduce problems with
scaling and parallax. Use the zoom feature to fill the screen with the motion.

4. The object used for scaling (a meter stick placed on ground or on a table) must be in the same
plane as the motion of the free fall.

Have one person in the group throw the ball straight up while you record the video. Once you
have shot your movie, transfer the video clip to the lab computer (you can email it to yourself)
that you will use for the analysis.

PART 2 – VIDEO ANALYSIS

PROCEDURE
1. Start Logger Pro. Choose Movie from the Insert menu. Insert your movie. It may take a few
seconds for the movie to upload into Logger Pro.

Make the movie window large enough to easily see the free fall motion.

2. Enable Video Analysis by clicking on the button in the lower-right corner. This brings up a
toolbar with a number of buttons.
3. Click the Set Origin button (third from top), then click in the movie frame to set the location
of the origin. If needed, this coordinate system can be rotated by dragging the yellow dot on
the horizontal axis.

4. Click the Set Scale button (fourth from top), then drag across an object of known length in
the movie. In this movie, the object of known length is the 1 m stick on the ground or table.
When you release the mouse button, enter the length of the object; be sure the units are
correct.

5. Use the forward and back movie buttons to advance the movie until the ball is released from
the shooter’s hands. Next to the button you used to enable analysis is the Sync Movie to
Graph button. Click this button, then enter 0 in the graph time window. Select Use This
Synchronization in Video Capture.

6. Now click the Add Point button (second from the top). Decide where on the object you will
mark its location (center, top, other) and then click the object in the movie. Important: Be
consistent in your marking.
Each time you mark the object’s location, the movie advances one frame. Notice that data are
being plotted on the graph.

7. Continue this process as long as is desired. Should you wish to edit a point, click the Select
Point button (top). This allows you to move or delete a mismarked point.

8. Select the graph window. Logger Pro defaults to display both the x and y positions of the
object as a function of time. You will need to remove the x positions from the graph to
examine the position-time behavior of just only the y component during the free fall motion.

EVALUATION OF DATA
1. Examine the graph of y-position vs. time. Fit an appropriate curve to this graph. Write the
equation that describes the y-position vs. time behavior of the ball.

Your answer:

2. Find the value of acceleration due to gravity “a” from this equation. Show all your work below.
It is a convention that we use the symbol g for this acceleration. “g” is positive but if the upward
direction is assumed to be positive (like we did in this lab), the acceleration a is negative.

Experimental: a = - g = _____________
Actual: g = 9.80665 m/s2
What is its percent error (as compared to the actual value of g), show all your work?

𝑔(𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙) − 𝑔(𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡)
% 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = | | x 100
𝑔(𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙)

% 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = ______________

3. Now, examine the graph of y-velocity vs. time. Fit a straight line to the graph. Write down
the fit equation.

Your answer:

4. What can you say about the rate of change of the y-velocity as a function of time? How does
the value of the slope of the linear fits compare to the acceleration of a freely falling object?

Your answer:

PART 3 – VIDEO ANALYSIS OF AN EXISTING VIDEO

1. Download the video “Ball toss up” from eCampus.

2. Repeat steps 1 through 8 from Part 2 Procedure. This time the meter stick in the video is
placed vertically on the wall, behind the ball in free fall motion.

3. Examine the graph of y-position vs. time. Fit an appropriate curve to this graph. Write the
equation that describes the y-position vs. time behavior of the ball.

Your answer:
4. Find the value of acceleration due to gravity “a” from this equation. Show all your work below.
It is a convention that we use the symbol g for this acceleration. “g” is positive but if the upward
direction is assumed to be positive (like we did in this lab), the acceleration a is negative.

Experimental: a = - g = _____________
Actual: g = 9.80665 m/s2

What is its percent error (as compared to the actual value of g), show all your work?

𝑔(𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙) − 𝑔(𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡)
% 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = | | x 100
𝑔(𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙)

% 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = ______________

5. Now, examine the graph of y-velocity vs. time. Fit a straight line to the graph. Write down
the fit equation.

Your answer:

6. Which of the methods “The incline method”, “Your own video”, or “The existing video” is
the most accurate one? Explain why?