Acceleration and Gravity Quiz

What is acceleration?

What is the unit of acceleration?

What is the primary purpose of using two balls of different masses in this physics lab?

Do all objects fall at the same rate?

What is the purpose of using duct tape in this experiment?

What affects the falling rate of objects?

Why does a piece of paper take a long time to fall?

What is the advantage of using smaller balls in this experiment?

What is the purpose of the data analysis step in this experiment?

What can you observe when you drop two objects of similar sizes?

What is plotted on the y-axis of the position-time graph?

What is the rate of acceleration that falling objects experience?

How is the velocity calculated in this experiment?

What is the acceleration due to gravity in a world with no air resistance?

What is the shape of the velocity-time graph?

Acceleration and Gravity

Acceleration is a change in the velocity of an object over time, measured in meters per second per second (m/s²).
Falling objects accelerate, and if they didn't, their velocity would stay at zero, and they would float in the air.

Characteristics of Falling Objects

Objects with different masses fall at the same rate, contrary to what people might expect.
Air resistance, related to the surface area of the object, can affect the rate of fall.

Physics Lab Steps

Equipment needed: two balls of different masses and similar sizes, stopwatch with lap feature, tape measure or ruler, duct tape, and a wall.
Steps:
- Stick four pieces of duct tape to the wall at equal distances apart.
- Measure the distance between each piece and the floor.
- Drop one ball from the top piece, starting the stopwatch simultaneously.
- Record the time when the ball reaches each marker.
- Repeat the experiment at least ten times for each ball.

Data Analysis

Average the trials for each piece of duct tape to get an average time.
Plot the data on a position-time graph.
Calculate the position (x) and time (t) for each segment.
Plot a velocity-time graph by subtracting times, calculating velocity, and plotting velocity against time.
Calculate acceleration by finding the slope of the velocity-time graph.

Key Findings

In a world with no air resistance, all objects accelerate at a rate of approximately 9.8 m/s², known as the acceleration due to gravity.
The acceleration of each ball should be the same, regardless of mass, in the absence of air resistance.

Test your knowledge of acceleration, velocity, and gravity! Learn how objects fall and accelerate, and understand the concept of meters per second squared.