Lab Free Fall

INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING I.E.E.
E (EX-INELEC)
Free Fall
3rd laboratory report
17/02/2013
Members:
 SALAH AMIR Ismail

 HADRI Kheyreddine
 MHAMDI AbdelMoumen
Getting familiarized with Newton’s laws of motion.

Introduction
A lot of things fall down and you have probably seen one of them or two, but is
it true that the distance of the body that is falling is proportional to square of
the time?
Objectives:
 Prove that the distance a body falls is proportional to the square of time.
 Determine the acceleration g due to gravity.
 Learning how to use the free fall frame.
Apparatus:
Photo-gate, Free fall frame, iron ball.
The Photogate: is a timing device which is useful for measuring events which
happen faster than you can time by hand. It is also useful in determining the
speed of many objects.
The Photogate consists of an infrared diode and a photocell. Timing occurs

when the infrared beam between the diode and photocell is interrupted. You
can’t see the beam, but it is there. The numbers in the display show the time
of the event in seconds.
Timing Modes
 The GATE mode produces the time interval the beam was broken. You
use this mode to find out how long it took something to move through
the beam. Very useful in determining speed.
 The PULSE mode measures the time between the beam being broken
until it is broken a second time. The first break starts the timer, the
second break stops the timer.
 PENDULUM mode measures the time between the beam being broken
and the third time the beam is broken. The first break starts the timer,
the second break is ignored, the third break stops the timer.
1
Using the Photogate:
To determine speed:
 Set the timer in the GATE mode.

 Set-up the Photogate so that the object passes through the beam at right
angles to the beam.
 Measure the width of the object which is breaking the beam. This object
must have definite edges and pass through the beam at right angles.
 Since speed is distance/time, divide the width of the object by the time
on the Photogate to get the speed.
Measuring elapsed time of travel:
 Use the Photogate as a semi-automatic stop watch.

 Set the timer in the PULSE mode.
 Set-up the Photogate so that the object will pass through the beam at
right angles to the beam. The timer should be at the end point of the
motion.
Procedure:
 Set the free fall frame up carefully by leveling it using the screws in the
base with the aid of a plumb line; make sure that the ball that will be
dropped from the ball releaser will fall into the catcher.
 Connect an electronics timer and a photo-gate unit to the frame (the
circuit wiring instructions are shown in the Figure 1).
 Turn on the timer and start the clock, pass your hand through the space
inside the photo-gate unit, this should cause the clock to start.
 Hang a ball in the ball releaser and make sure that the clock is stopped.
Carefully press the ball releaser bar, taking care not to shake the frame.
 When the ball leaves the releaser, the clock should start. Now you are
ready to start the free fall fame.
 Mount the photo-gate on the frame.
 Place the ball in the releaser and start the timer manually, raise the ball
carefully until the timer stops (this is the starting point for the distance
measurement; mark it with a removable mark).
2
 Set the photo-gate down to any position. Measure the distance between
the new position of the Photogate and the starting point three times.
 Set a ball in the ball releaser. Stop and rest the clock and make at least
three measurement of the time t to the free fall of the ball for the
distance you have chosen.
 Repeat the last two procedures for at least five very different free fall
distances.
Data:
Tabulating the data of the distance:
S(cm) 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
T1(ms) 142 205 245 285 322 349 378 406 429
T2(ms) 144 199 243 290 321 356 371 400 427
T3(ms) 143 206 247 286 323 346 382 403 430
3
Analysis:
Calculating the average time:
tav =(t1+ t2+ t3)/3
tav1 =(142+144+143)/3
= 143 ms
tav2 =(205+199+206 )/3
= 203.3 ms
tav3 =(245+243+247 )/3
= 245 ms
tav4 =(285+290+286)/3
= 287 ms
tav5 =(322+321+323 )/3
= 322 ms
tav6 =(349+356+346 )/3
= 350.3 ms
tav7 =(378+371+382 )/3
= 377 ms
tav8 =(406+400+403 )/3
= 403 ms
tav9 =(429+427+430 )/3
= 428.3ms
4
Tabulating the analysis data:
S(cm) 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
T1(ms) 142 205 245 285 322 349 378 406 429
T2(ms) 144 199 243 290 321 356 371 400 427
T3(ms) 143 206 247 286 323 346 382 403 430
Tavg (ms) 143 203.3 245 287 322 350.3 377 403 428.3
Calculating g (the gravity of the Earth):
g=2s/t²
g= 2s/tav2
g1= 2s/tav12
= (2*10*10-2)/(143*10-3)²
= 9.78 m/s2
g2= 2s/tav22
=(2*20*10-2)/( 206.3*10-3)²
= 9.67 m/s2
g3= 2s/tav32
= (2*30*10-2)/( 245*10-3)²
= 9.99 m/s2
g4=2s/tav42
= (2*40*10-2)/( 287*10-3)²
= 9.71m/s2
g5= 2s/tav52
5
= (2*50*10-2)/( 322*10-3)²
= 9.64 m/s2
g6= 2s/tav52
= (2*60*10-2)/( 350.3*10-3)²
= 9.78 m/s2
g7= 2s/tav52
= (2*70*10-2)/( 377*10-3)²
= 9.85 m/s2
g8= 2s/tav52
= (2*80*10-2)/( 403*10-3)²
= 9.85 m/s2
g9= 2s/tav52
= (2*90*10-2)/( 428.3*10-3)²
= 9.81 m/s2
Calculating the mean value of gravity g:
gav= (g1+g2+g3+ g4+ g5)/5
= (9.1+9.4+9.2+9.5+9.7)/5
= 9.4 m/s²
Calculating the measurement error on the gravity (∆g):
g=2s/t²
log(g)=log(2)+log(s)-2log(t)
ds dt
d(log g) = 0 + -2
s t
6
dg ds dt
= -2t
g s
ds dt
dg = ( - 2 )g
s t
dg1= -9.626x10-04
dg2 = 3.947x10-04
dg3 = -1.163x10-04
dg4 = 2.788x10-05
dg5 = 1.826x10-03
dg6 = 2.787x10-04
dg7 = -1.453x10-04
dg8 = 2.128x10-05
dg9 = 1.196x10-03

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INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING I.E.E.

 SALAH AMIR Ismail

Getting familiarized with Newton’s laws of motion.

Photo-gate, Free fall frame, iron ball.

The Photogate consists of an infrared diode and a photocell. Timing occurs

 Set the timer in the GATE mode.

Measuring elapsed time of travel:

 Use the Photogate as a semi-automatic stop watch.

Tabulating the data of the distance:

Calculating the average time:

tav =(t1+ t2+ t3)/3

tav2 =(205+199+206 )/3

tav3 =(245+243+247 )/3

tav5 =(322+321+323 )/3

tav6 =(349+356+346 )/3

tav7 =(378+371+382 )/3

tav8 =(406+400+403 )/3

tav9 =(429+427+430 )/3

Calculating g (the gravity of the Earth):

Calculating the mean value of gravity g:

gav= (g1+g2+g3+ g4+ g5)/5

Calculating the measurement error on the gravity (∆g):

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