See how the angle of a ramp affects the speed of a cylinder moving down it.
GCSE ramp experiment SECTION P: PLANNING > Aim: To see how the angle of a ramp affects the speed of a cylinder moving down it. > Preliminary Work I carried out some preliminary tests to see any problems, which could occur and anything, which could be improved. I first tried timing the cylinder with a stop watch timer, although this may be slightly inaccurate because of the result being reliant on the timers reactions, we felt this to be most efficient. By setting at 5° we got a result of 1.39s. The results of the experiment with the stopwatch are shown below. The weight of the cylinder in the set of results below is 198.18g. Here, we are testing how long the cylinder takes to reach the end of the ramp - i.e. not the time it takes to completely stop Preliminary Experiment Angle (°) Time 1 (s) Time 2 (s) Time 3 (s) Average (s) 5 .59 .42 .69 .50 0 0.98 0.91 .02 0.97 5 0.77 0.78 0.73 0.76 20 0.53 0.61 0.64 0.59 > After the 20° angle we found it was becoming difficult to time the cylinder and also to support the ramp. So we decided to change the range from 5°- 45° to a more suitable range of 3° - 30° and also to carry out the experiment 5 times instead of the 3 allowing us to get a better average. We had previously decided that all the cylinders should be rolled from a height of 30cm to begin with, although this could be used as a
Physics coursework: Trolley experiment
Physics coursework: Trolley experiment Aim: The aim of this experiment is to find out whether or not the mass of a trolley effects its acceleration when traveling down a ramp kept at a fixed height. Planning Set up the experiment as shown above. Run the cart down the ramp once to make sure the cart runs in a straight line. Start the cart with its front wheels behind the starting line each time. The run finishes when the back wheels cross the finishing line. Three runs will be taken for each weight and three runs will be taken without a weight. We decided to take seven different observations, increasing the weight by 0.8kg each time Apparatus needed: 0.8kg weights (8)to add on to the cart) Ramp (1.5m in length) Cart (same cart used all the time) Books (to hold up the ramp at a fixed height) Stop watch (for timing the experiment) Sand bags (to stop the car at the end of each run) Safety: To keep this experiment safe, different precautions have to be taken. * Sand bags will be used to prevent the cart falling of the table * The ramp will be kept at a sensible height (17.5cm) * The ramp will be kept on a flat surface. * To prevent the ramp slipping, the books will be securely fastened. The ramp will be kept at a fixed height for the whole experiment as if the height is changed, gravity will act differently on the car changing the results for each run. The only two
How Surface Area Of Vanes Effect The Rate At Which A Weight Drops.
How Surface Area Of Vanes Effect The Rate At Which A Weight Drops Aim - To see if the surface area of a wind vane affects the rate at which a weight drops from it. Hypothesis - I predict that by increasing the surface area of the vanes on the wind vane, I will increase the air resistance therefore slowing the rate at which the weight will drop. Primary Work - If a piece of paper and a marble are in free fall, they will fall at the same speed, so they should hit the ground at the same time. If you test this by just dropping a marble and a piece of paper you will find it is not true. This is because the objects are not in free fall. To be in free fall, gravity has to be the only force acting on the objects. When you just drop something, there is also air resistance. Air resistance is a type of fluid friction. Because friction acts in the opposite direction of the object's motion, air resistance of an object falling downward is an upward force. This is because a falling object is coming down, so the opposite direction is up. If air resistance were equal for every object, objects would still fall at the same rate. Since we know they do not fall at the same rate, we know air resistance is different for different objects. The amount of air resistance acting on an object depends on the object's surface area. If an object has a small surface area, it will have little air
Investigating the factors affecting tensile strength of human hair.
Investigating the factors affecting tensile strength of human hair Planning: (Skill A) Hypothesis There will be a difference in tensile strength in blonde hair and black hair of similar thickness. Blonde hair will have a higher tensile strength than black hair when at similar thickness. Blonde hair has more sulphur-sulphur covalent bonds than black hair. Hair contains the protein keratin, which contains a large proportion of cysteine with S-S bonds. The disulphide bond is one of the strongest bonds known anywhere in nature. The cross-linking by disulphide linkages between the keratin chains accounts for much of the strength of hair. Blonde hair has more of these bonds therefore blonde hair will have a higher tensile strength and elasticity levels. Null Hypothesis There will be no difference in tensile strength between black hair and blonde hair of similar thickness. Blonde hair having more sulphide bridges will not mean that blonde hair has a higher tensile strength than black hair. Background Knowledge Hair has a very high tensile strength. It can hold up 60kg of weight before breaking. This high strength is due to its structure. Hair is made of the fibrous protein keratin. Figure 1 shows keratin molecules are made up of three helices. They are held together by strong covalent bonds called sulphur bonds. Eleven of these molecules group together to form a micro
Carry out an experiment of simple harmonic motion using a simple pendulum and determine the acceleration due to gravity, to verify the equation T = 2PÖ(l/g) and show the relationship between time period and length.
SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION AND THE SIMPLE PENDULUM Task 1 Aim To carry out an experiment of simple harmonic motion using a simple pendulum and determine the acceleration due to gravity, to verify the equation T = 2??(l/g) and show the relationship between time period and length. Method The apparatus is set up, as above, the string must be measured carefully with a ruler to minimise any error; the length should start off fairly short at about 0.2m for example. The bob should be secure. A table should be made for results, this should include length, time (twice), average time and time period (= average time/20). The pendulum is set into motion by a gentle push, some practice in doing this and also counting and timing the oscillations beforehand may help to achieve greater accuracy. The angle of amplitude should be kept similar if not the same for each experiment, to make sure the forces acting on it are the same. It is easier to count the oscillations from the equilibrium position as this is where the pendulum has no energy. The number of oscillations counted should be about 20 as it is easier to count a larger number. The reaction time needed to count one single oscillation would be so small that errors could easily occur. The timing for 20 oscillations should be repeated to calculate an average time. The string is now adjusted and measured for a longer length,
Pulleys, forces and the principle of moments
Pulleys Background Information A Push or Pull which can vary in magnitude or direction on an object is called Force. The direction of force is the direction of push or pull. If the push and pull are on opposite directions, they act simultaneously, in other words the one with the greater push gives the direction of force. The standard unit for force in International system is Newton (N). Altogether there are five types of forces which are given below with their definitions mentioned- . Muscular Force- The force exerted by the muscles is known as Muscular force. 2. Gravitational Force- When an object is thrown in the air, it automatically comes down. This is because the Earth attracts every object or body towards it with a force called the force of Gravitation. 3. Magnetic Force- The force exerted by a magnet is called Magnetic force. For e.g. If I bring a magnet near some pins, they will all get pulled towards the magnet. It therefore, implies that the magnet has exerted some force on the pins. 4. Electrostatic Force- The force exerted by electrostatic charge is called Electrostatic force. This type of force can be repulsive or attractive. For e.g. Rub a comb with a dry cloth and bring it near small pieces of paper. We would be astonished to discover that the pieces of paper are pulled towards the comb. This attraction is due to electrostatic force. 5. Frictional
To get any object to move in a circle you have to apply a force to it
Centripetal force of a rubber bung Aim : To get any object to move in a circle you have to apply a force to it. Methods : With your experiment you don't mention anything about controlling or measuring the force. All you have measured is the (average) period of the object moving in a circle. From this you can calculate the average speed and acceleration. To turn this into an investigation you would need to measure the force pulling the bung into the circular path. i.e. the tension in the string. At the moment, if you put more effort in the bung will go faster, even if you don't change the radius of the circle, or the mass of the bung. One way to do this would be to include a spring of suitable strength into the string and you could possible measure the extension of the spring as you twirl it around to estimate the force. Another method I've seen used is to have the string pass through a tube. On the bottom end of the string you attach a weight. You twirl the bung around above your head whilst holding the tube until the forces are balanced. If you spin it too slowly the weight drops down, if you go too fast it rises up. You need to adjust the speed of spinning until the weight balances at the correct point. Results: There is a fairly simple formula for cicular motion. F = (m X v2) / r F = force (Newton) m = mass of bung (kg) v = speed of bung (m/s) r =
What factors affect the distance travelled by a margarine tub.
What factors affect the distance travelled by a margarine tub Aim: My aim is to find out how the distance travelled by a margarine tub is affected by the force applied on it. Prediction: I predict that the greater the force applied, the further the margarine tub will travel. This will happen because when the elastic band is released, the force exerted by the band will make the forces unbalanced and the resultant force will make the margarine tub accelerate. But however great the force I apply is, the margarine tub will eventually stop. This happens due to air resistance and friction; "friction is a very common force. Whenever one object slides over another (in this case, a margarine tub over a floor) friction tries to stop the movement" - Johnson, 2001. I also predict that as the distance travelled increases, when I repeat the experiment there will be a variety of results collected. So, I predict that the further back I pull the Newton meter, increasing the force, the further the margarine tub will travel. Equipment: Piece of equipment Used for Newton Meter This will be used to measure the input force Ruler We will use this to measure the output force Empty Margarine Tub This is our instrument so we can visually see how much force is exerted by the certain forces applied by the elastic band A chair We will use an average science stool as they are easily
Our understanding of the history of forces.
Our understanding of the history of forces In order to explore some of the thinking processes involved in the current dialogue between science and religion, I have imagined the following fable. The characters in my fable are modern-day versions of Galileo, Newton, and Leibniz. Also included is a lesser known historical figure, theologian Richard Bentley, with whom Newton corresponded. Galileo is pictured as a modern-day experimental physicist, performing increasingly precise experiments with falling bodies at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I imagine him rapidly communicating his results by e-mail to Newton in Cambridge, who is contemporaneously developing his laws of motion and gravity. Of course, Galileo preceded the other characters by two generations, so this interchange is obviously not historical. Furthermore, although both men were brilliant theorists and experimentalists, I am going to impose a modern division of labor and have Galileo be strictly an experimentalist and Newton a theorist. Galileo will have the best modern equipment at his disposal, and I will imagine each as if he thought like a scientist of today, not one of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Galileo died, and Newton was born, in 1642. That was a time of terrible religious persecution. During their lives, 50,000 women were accused of witchcraft and burned alive. Nineteen witch hangings in Salem were
Find out the difference in flight time, of a weighted paper helicopter, on comparison to a mass of blue tack with equivalent mass.
Paper helicopters and a circular ball of same mass Aim I am trying to find out the difference in flight time, of a weighted paper helicopter, on comparison to a mass of blue tack with equivalent mass. Variables Things that could be investigated are: * Wing span - which would effect the air resistance of the helicopter * Mass attached to helicopter * Wing area * Increase the mass of the helicopter by adding more paper clips - which I predict would effect the rate of which the helicopter would fall. Measurement and different interpretation of these variables could be made for example, increasing the amount of mass then compare it with air resistance by timing a piece of blue tact of same mass. Hypothesis What I predict will happen is, as the mass of the blue tact is increased the speed in which it falls will be increased too. Also I predict that as the mass of paperclips are added to the helicopter the faster it will fall. The reason and objects stay at rest is because the two forces on the object are equal. Things that effect the rate of which the paper clip fall are gravity and air resistance: * If an object is released above the ground it falls, because it is attracted towards the earth. This force of attraction is called gravity. * As an object falls through air, it usually encounters some degree of air resistance. Air resistance is the result of collisions of