EXPERIMENT 3: ONE DIMENSIONAL MOTION
Lab 4
Name:
REEM ALNAHDI 201001983
EZDIHAR ALMARHOON 200900653
SALMA ALGZWI 201001547
NARJIS ALHMOUD 201000487
FATIMAH ALMOHSIN 201001165
SHAHAD ALDOSSARY 201000495
Objectives:
The main objective of this experiment is to figure out the relation between position, velocity
and acceleration and to find the type of graph, when position, velocity and acceleration vs.
time are plotted.
Equipment:
1. Xplorer GLX
2. Sonic motion sensor
3. Track
4. Gocar
5. Support
Theory:
Constant acceleration means a constant change in velocity. The slope of a
plot of velocity versus time for an object is the acceleration of the object.
Whether the slope of velocity is positive or negative reveals the direction of
the object’s acceleration relative to the sensor.
If the cart moves in a plane that is inclined at an angle θ, the component of
the force acting on the cart in a direction that is parrallel to the surface of
the plane is mg sin θ, where m is the mass of the cart and g is the
acceleration due to gravity.
If friction on the cart is ignored, the acceleration of the cart should be g sin
θ both up and down the inclined plane.
Procedure:
1. Deliver the motion sensor to the Xplorer GLX.
2. Record the length of the plane (L).
3. Start by leveling the track and attach the motion sensor to one end , and record the
height.
4. Place the cart facing the sensor ( do not let get closer than 15 cm ).
5. Let the cart go and press the play button until the cart get to the end of the track press
the button again.
6. With Graph Screen displaying the plot of position vs. time, activate the vertical axis
label and select ‘Velocity’ from the submenu. The graph will then show velocity vs.
time.
7. It will show the velocity vs. time with (+_ no.) which is the possible error.
8. The slope of the linear fit of the velocity vs time is the average acceleration from the
experiment.
9. Compare the theoretical acceleration to that found in step 8 and find the percent
difference
.10
% diff =
11. Repeat the previous steps for different height.
Data Analysis:
Run
Height of
the
inclined
plane (m)
Acceleration Acceleration Percentage
calculated
measured
Error
from theory
from run
%
2
(m/s )
(m/s2)
difference
#1
20
0.190
1.86
1.5699
22.7%
#2
23.5
0.224
2.197
2.72
23.6%
#3
24
0.228
2.237
1.930
13.4%
Roughly sketch the prediction of the position, velocity and acceleration vs. time graphs for
cart’s motion up and down the inclined plane.
a(cm/sec)2
v(cm/s
)
x(cm)
T(sec)
T(sec)
T(sec)
Questions:
1. Describe the position versus time plot. Why does the distance begin at a
maximum and decrease as the cart moves up the incline plane.
2. Describe the velocity versus time graph. What are the appropriate units for the
slopes of the position and velocity vs. time plots?
3. Is the acceleration in the acceleration vs. time graph constant? If yes explain why?
4. How does the theoretical acceleration compare to the experimental acceleration?