Tag Archives: gravity

When a car is on a ramp, a portion of its weight works to roll it down the ramp. Another portion works to hold it down to the ramp. These two portions, or component forces, are perpendicular to one another and can be found by using the car’s weight and the angle of the ramp.

Chapter 13 Lab #43: Students will observe the effects of gravity on objects in free fall.

Chapter 11 Lab #37:

Each student will locate their center of gravity.

The first experiment will use very basic equipment to measure an important quantity, the acceleration of an object in freefall. This is also known as the acceleration due to gravity, or g. The acceleration due to gravity is nearly the same at all points on the earth’s surface, 9.8 m/s2. You will compare your result to this accepted value. The second experiment will use a data-logger and photogates to measure the acceleration due to gravity. The “picket fence” has been used since photogates were developed to measure acceleration. The “pickets” block the photogate in sequence, giving a series of velocity readings. Using the velocities and the times between those velocities, the data-logger (or the student) can calculate the acceleration of the picket fence. The third experiment will use a data-logger and motion sensor (or sonic ranger) to measure the acceleration due to gravity.

Every day we have to make choices. Sometimes these can be life changing. In the Firing Squad Demo the student you pick to be the target, will have to choose between two dart guns to be shot with!

Everybody loves the unforgettable, visceral thrill of a rocket launch. Whether it’s the Saturn V with 7.6 million pounds of thrust or a tiny model launched from your backyard, projectile motion can be studied and understood by students of all ages. In fact, many teachers conduct projectile motion demonstrations with water-powered or solid-fuel model rockets.