MODULE 07 · LAB 1 / LAB BENCH
Find g
Measure the acceleration due to gravity the way you would in a real lab: set up the equipment, take your own readings, record everything, then let the graph tell you g.
Your assignment
Determine g, the acceleration due to gravity, and report it with an uncertainty. Measure at 3 or more heights, with 5 or more drops at each, using one ball and one timer.
- Put a ball in the release clamp
- Stand the measuring stick next to the drop
- Add a timer: the hand stopwatch, the electronic timer, or both
The bench
Set up the equipmentMagnified stick at the bottom of the ball (numbers in cm)
Each small mark is 1 mm. Read the height from the pad to the bottom of the ball, to the nearest millimetre.
Measure and record
02You are the timer: press Start (or the Space bar) on “Drop!” and Stop when the ball hits the pad.
Starts when the clamp releases the ball and stops when the ball hits the pad. Reads to the millisecond.
Lab notebook
0 of 3 heights done| # | Ball | Timer | h (m) | t (s) | Delete |
|---|
No trials yet.
| h (m) | n | mean t (s) | SD (s) | SE (s) | g = 2h/t̄² (m/s²) |
|---|
What do mean, SD and SE mean?
Graph and fit
| Slope of t² against h | |
|---|---|
| Intercept | |
| g = 2 / slope |
Why plot t² against h?
Your result
03Report the value and uncertainty you believe, to sensible significant figures. You may use the fit, or your own analysis.
Your completion code. Copy it and paste it into the Canvas assignment.
You can submit again after more work: paste the newest code. Your instructor grades the last code you paste.