Stacey,+Jen+and+Sara's+Acceleration+Lab

=Lab Report Title= Date of Publication (Date of Most Recent Edits)


 * Participants**: Stacey Schellong, Jen Grobe, & Sara Binshadler
 * Purpose**: Observe motion that is accelerating and to be able to distingush between constant velocity and accelerated motion.

 In order to measure the acceleration and velocity of a free falling weight and a hover disk we attached paper strips that were then threaded through a spark timer. The spark timer marked the paper once ever 60th of a second, we then were able to use this information to know the position of the weight and hover disk at any time in the experiment. By measuring the distance between the marks we were able to calculate and graph the velocity and acceleration of both items.
 * Brief Description of Experiment**:

Sample Calculations:**
 * Data**: [[image:info.JPG]].[[image:graph.JPG width="815" height="547"]]
 * This graph shows both the graph for the hover puck and the weight
 * //Speed calculation//

//Average Velocity calculation//

Delta- Distance Calculation || The speed in centimeters per second was calculated by taking the measured distance in meters and dividing by the time elapsed in seconds. speed = distance / time

The average velocity of the object in each time interval was measured in centimeters per second by takeing the distance and dividing it by the time interval. V= distance/(1/60)

The delta-distance was also calculated in Centimeters and was calculted by finding the delta of each distance. || Results: The gravitational constant, representing the acceleration of free falling objects, about -9.8m/s^2. Leaving a margin for error due to friction, measurements, and tools, these calculations are accurate in comparison to the -9.8m/s^2 expected. The calculations were made by finding the slope (velocity) of a graph representing position over distance and then the slope (acceleration) of the velocity over time. Making these graphs first hand also helps us to better understand what they represent. 2. In our experiment both objects were accelerating but if they wern't then the graphs would either have a negative slope or have no slope at all( be a horizontal line). 3. The value of acceleration for the 1kg weight was around -9.8m/s^2 which also happenes to be the value for gravity on earth. the reason that our value was not exact is due to measuring, instrumental, and human errors. If we were to use a 100kg weight the value of acceleration would also be around -9.8m/s^2. 4. A negative acceleration means that an object is moving downward.
 * Lab Questions**:
 * 1. Both objects were accelerating; however, with the hoverdisk acceleration was more apperent to the due to the fact that it was moving horizontally and it was easier to watch. By looking at the graphs however you can tell that the objects were accelerating because they both have a positive slope.

Conclusion**: A good conclusion will include:

//Don't forget to link to your lab report from the lab reports page and to include a link to your lab report in your reflection.//