#$&*
Phy 201
Your 'ball down ramp' report has been received. Scroll down through the document to see any comments I might have inserted, and my final comment at the end.
#$&* Your general comment **
#$&* Will a steeper ramp give greater or lesser time? **
Copy this document into a word processor or text editor.
Follow the instructions, fill in your data and the results of your analysis in the given format.
Any answer you given should be accompanied by a concise explanation of how it was obtained.
To avoid losing your work, regularly save your document to your computer.
When you have completed your work:
Copy the document into a text editor (e.g., Notepad; but NOT into a word processor or html editor, e.g., NOT into Word or FrontPage).
Highlight the contents of the text editor, and copy and paste those contents into the indicated box at the end of this form.
Click the Submit button and save your form confirmation.
A ball is timed as it rolls from rest to the end of a ramp. The slope of the ramp is varied. Preliminary conclusions are drawn about the motion and the effect of ramp slope. A subsequent lab exercise uses the data from this lab to reach additional conclusions.
Most students report completion times between 45 minutes and 75 minutes hour, with a few reporting times as short as 25 minutes or as long as 2 hours. Median time of completion is around 1 hour.
Timing Ball down Ramp
The picture below shows a ball near the end of a grooved steel track (this steel track is a piece of 'shelf standard'); the shelf standard is supported by a stack of two dominoes. Your lab materials package contains two pieces of shelf standard; the shelf standard shown in the figure is white, but the one in your kit might be colored black, gold, silver or any of a variety of other colors.
If a ball rolls from an initial state of rest down three ramps with different slopes, the same distance along the ramp each time, do you think the time required to roll the length of the ramp will be greatest or least for the steepest ramp, or will the interval on the steepest ramp be neither the greatest nor the least? Explain why you think you have correctly predicted the behavior of the system.
Your answer (start in the next line):
The interval with the steepest ramp will have the least time. I think i have correctly predicted the behaviour of the system because the steepest ramp will produce the greatest force perpendicular to the ramp on the ball.
#$&*
If we write down the slopes from least to greatest, next to the time intervals observed for those slopes, would you expect the time intervals to be increasing or decreasing, or do you think there would be no clear pattern? Explain why you think you have correctly described the behavior of the numbers in the table.
Your answer (start in the next line):
I think the time intervals will be decreasing because the ball will continue to speed up as it goes down each ramp.
#$&*
Set up the shelf standard ramp on a reasonably level table, using a piece of 30-cm shelf standard and a single domino under the high end of the ramp. Position the dominoes so that the last .5 cm of the ramp extends beyond the point where the ramp contacts the domino,.and do the same in all subsequent setups.
Set the bracket on the table, touching the lower end of the ramp so that a ball rolling down the ramp will strike the bracket..
Mark a point about 3 cm below the top end of the ramp. Place a domino on the ramp to its high end is at this point, and place the ball just above the domino, so the domino is holding it back. Quickly pull the domino away from the ball so the ball begins to roll freely down the ramp. Allow the ball to roll until it strikes the bracket.
The bracket will probably move a little bit. Reset it at the end of the ramp.
Determine how far the ball rolled from release until it struck the bracket.
Now repeat, but this time use the TIMER. The first click will occur at the instant you release the ball, the second at the instant the ball strikes the bracket. Practice until you are as sure as you can be that you are clicking and pulling back the domino at the same instant, and that your second click is simultaneous with the ball striking the bracket.
When you are ready, do 5 trials 'for real' and record your time intervals.
Then reverse the system--without otherwise changing the position of the ramp, place the domino under the left end and position the bracket at the right end.
Time 5 trials with the ramp in this position.
In the space below, give the time interval for each trial, rounded to the nearest .001 second. Give 1 trial on each line, so that you will have a total of 10 lines, the first 5 lines for the first system, then 5 lines for the second system.
Beginning in 11th line give a short narrative description of what your data means and how it was collected.
Also describe what you were thinking, relevant to physics and the experiment, during the process of setting up the system and performing the trials.
Your answer (start in the next line):
2.461
2.414
2.438
2.422
2.391
2.055
2.055
2.031
1.914
2.063
The first five numbers are the time it took the ball to roll from the right to the left and the last five are how long it took the ball to roll down the ramp left to right. I started the timer as soon as the ball was let go and stopped it as soon as the ball hit the bracket. I had the high end of the ramp on a domino and the low end on the table. The bracket was turned sideways at the end of the ramp to stop the ball. As I was setting up the system I though that if I put the low end of the ramp on the bottom of the bracket the ramp wouldn't be steep enough to provide a force parallel to the ramp strong enough to overcome friction and make the ball move. So i turned the bracket sideways and it worked.
#$&*
Now place two dominoes under the right end and repeat the process, obtaining the time interval for each of 5 trials.
Then place the two dominoes under the left end and repeat once more.
Enter your 10 time intervals using the same format as before.
Your answer (start in the next line):
1.445
1.383
1.477
1.531
1.492
1.461
1.391
1.328
1.445
1.336
#$&*
Repeat the preceding using 3 dominoes instead of 2. Enter your 10 time intervals using the same format as before.
Your answer (start in the next line):
1.125
1.203
1.156
1.086
1.125
1.086
1.078
1.031
1.109
1.039
#$&*
Repeat the preceding again, still using the 3 domino setup, but this time place a CD or a DVD disk (or something of roughly similar thickness) on the 'low' end of the ramp. You need time only 5 intervals, but if you prefer you may use 10. Enter your 5 (or 10) time intervals using the same format as before.
Your answer (start in the next line):
1.211
1.156
1.109
1.25
1.172
#$&*
Repeat the preceding one last time, still using the 3 domino setup, but remove the disk and replace it with a piece of paper. You need time only 5 intervals, but if you prefer you may use 10. Enter your 5 (or 10) time intervals using the same format as before.
Your answer (start in the next line):
1.117
1.125
1.125
1.055
1.086
#$&*
Do your results support or fail to support the hypotheses you stated in the first two questions, regarding the relationship between time intervals and slopes? Explain.
Your answer (start in the next line):
Yes. The time interval between the releasing the ball and it hitting the bracket became smaller as the slope was increased.
#$&*
How do you think the average velocity of the ball is related to the slope of the ramp? Explain in as much detail as possible.
Your answer (start in the next line):
I think that the average velocity will increase with the slope because there will be a greater final velocity making the average greater as well.
#$&*
Speculate on what it is that causes the average velocity on these ramps to change with slope.
Your answer (start in the next line):
I believe what causes the average velocity on these ramps to increase with the slope is the increase in the force parallel to the slope exerted on the ball.
#$&*
How might you verify whether your speculations are indeed valid explanations?
Your answer (start in the next line):
I could find the incline of the slope and multiply that by the gravitational force on the ball.
#$&*
Do your data conclusively show that the disk made a difference?
Your answer (start in the next line):
I don't think the data conclusively shows that the disk made a difference. The time intervals were greater in a couple of the trials but for the most part they were similar to the previous 3 domino trial.
#$&*
Do your data conclusively show that the piece of paper made a difference?
Your answer (start in the next line):
The paper did not make a difference.
#$&*
Imagine that someone is placing different objects below the 'low' end of the ramp, and you are timing the ball. Assume that somehow the object placed below the 'low' end is hidden from you in a way that does not interfere with the timing process. Compared to the thickness of the DVD, how thin would the object have to be before you would be unable, using the TIMER, to observe a difference in times down the ramp?
Answer this question in the first line below. Express your answer in multiples or fractions of the thickness of a disk.
Starting in the second line, explain how you came to your conclusion, based on the results you obtained in this experiment. Also discuss how you could modify or refine the experiment, still using the TIMER, to distinguish the effect of the thinnest possible object placed under the 'low end.
Your answer (start in the next line):
I think it would have to be something 1/2 the size of a disc. The disc itself yielded almost the same results as no disc at all so anything 1/2 the thickness or smaller of a disc you would be unable to tell that there was anything there at all.
#$&*
@& The paper probably did make a difference, but certainly not one we could measure with the methods we're using here.*@
Had you placed the disk below the 'low' end of the ramp in a 1-domino setup, do you think the difference in times would have been greater or less? Do you think you would be better able distinguish the presence of a thinner object using the 1-domino setup, or the 3-domino setup? Explain your reasoning below:
Your answer (start in the next line):
I think the difference in time would have been greater. At that small of a slope even small adjustments would be noticeable. You would be able to distinguish the presence of a thinner object using the 1 domino setup because the ball barely has enough force to start moving.
#$&*
Does the ball's velocity change more or less quickly with the 3-domino setup or the 1-domino setup? Explain as best you can how you could use your results to support your answer.
Your answer (start in the next line):
The ball's velocity changed more quickly with the 3 domino setup than the 1. We could use the results to prove this by finding the acceleration of each trial using the formulas of uniform acceleration
#$&*
Your instructor is trying to gauge the typical time spent by students on these experiments. Please answer the following question as accurately as you can, understanding that your answer will be used only for the stated purpose and has no bearing on your grades:
Approximately how long did it take you to complete this experiment?
Your answer (start in the next line):
45min
#$&*
*#&!
&#This lab submittion looks good. See my notes. Let me know if you have any questions.
Revision isn't requested, but if you do choose to submit revisions, clarifications or questions, please insert them into a copy of this document, and mark your insertions with &&&& (please mark each insertion at the beginning and at the end).
Be sure to include the entire document, including my notes. &#