I am doing an experiment to investigate the see any connections between the braking distance of a toy car and the height of which it is released at. I predict therefore that as the height of the ramp increases the braking distance also increases. To guarantee this is a fair test I plan to only have one thing that changes throughout the whole experiment, and this is the height if the ramp, and everything other then that will remain constant.
Diagram of apparatus
I know that the speed and braking distance vary when the height of the ramp height is altered so I plan to investigate the relationship and I predict that as the height of the ramp increases so will the braking distance and velocity. This is because if the ramp was at 0º to the bench then the forces would be balanced and therefore no movement takes place whereas if it is at a much greater height the balance forces become unbalanced. This means that if the forces are unbalanced it will move. As if it is at a high height the gravitational pull will be greater therefore the force pulling it down will be greater.
The ranges of measurements I plan to use are the heights. These are:
- 15cm
- 20cm
- 25 cm
- 30cm
The reason for this is because that they are reasonable heights to use. The numbers of measurements I will do are 5 for each height. This is because they are a logical amount of measurements for the time of which the experiment has to take place within.
Obtaining Evidence
Here are my results:
Braking Distance
Average:
Analysing
My experiment shows that my prediction was right. My results show that as the height of the ramp increases the braking distance also increases. From my graph I can see that the height of the ramp and the braking distance are directly proportional in a way. This is because as the heights go up on the graph so does the braking distance therefore proving my prediction. However the graph shows that there were limitations with our apparatus and range as the graph is not got a straight line.
Evaluating
I think the experiment went very well. The procedure and the manner of which the experiment was taken went smoothly with a few anomalous results. However I feel that the results were not very reliable as there were a few problems with the experiment procedure. The problems were as the car went down the ramp it swerved in different directions, which may have made the results misleading. I therefore suggest that a trolley would be used instead of a toy car. With this in mind, the results still prove the prediction right, therefore showing that as the height of the ramp increases, as does the braking distance. Also one could measure the length of the ramp, and use a timer and measure the time taken for the car or trolley to stop after release from the top of the ramp.
