Physics Investigation: The effect of speed on braking distance
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Introduction
Physics Investigation:
The effect of speed on braking distance
Hashim Al-Hasani 11R
Intro
Speed is the travelled distance for every moment/unit of a set time. Speed, distance and time are all related with each other, shown in the following equation, which can be rearranged to find the formula of each measurement:
Speed (m/s) = Distance (m) ÷ Time(s)
The braking distance of an object is the distance it takes to slow the object down, until it is has stopped (stationary). The object will only become stationary when the driving force is being counter-forced, for example friction and air resistance.
The kinetic energy of an object is the energy it gains due to its motion. The equation for kinetic energy is:
What factors can affect the braking distance of an object?
Well there are 3 main factors that affect the braking distance of an object:
The height from which the object is released
This can affect the braking distance as the higher the object is when it is released, the greater it’s original GPE. As the object continues downwards, its GPE decreases, and its kinetic energy increases by the same amount of gravitation potential energy lost.
Middle
450
50m
Reading
Speed
Distance
m/s
mm
1
0.71633
343
2
0.70225
277
3
0.71023
320
4
0.71225
320
5
0.72254
348
40m
Reading
Speed
Distance
m/s
mm
1
0.72464
325
2
0.74184
280
3
0.74627
331
4
0.73746
293
5
0.75301
319
90m
Reading
Speed
Distance
m/s
mm
1
1.12108
730
2
1.1062
719
3
1.12613
760
4
1.11607
749
5
1.12613
723
80m
Reading
Speed
Distance
m/s
mm
1
1.05485
646
2
1.04167
644
3
1.04167
676
4
1.04603
658
5
1.04167
659
70m
Reading
Speed
Distance
m/s
mm
1
0.94697
564
2
0.95057
570
3
0.9434
569
4
0.94697
581
5
0.95057
581
Height Dropped (cm)
Average Speed (m/s)
Average Distance (mm)
90
0.23
41
80
0.46
134
70
0.61
219
60
0.74
310
50
0.71
322
40
0.83
447
30
0.95
573
20
1.05
657
10
1.12
736
30m | ||
Reading | Speed | Distance |
m/s | mm | |
1 | 0.59524 | 212 |
2 | 0.62344 | 214 |
3 | 0.6068 | 206 |
4 | 0.59524 | 224 |
5 | 0.62657 | 240 |
20m | ||
Reading | Speed | Distance |
m/s | mm | |
1 | 0.45537 | 137 |
2 | 0.4562 | 133 |
3 | 0.44964 | 137 |
4 | 0.46642 | 131 |
5 | 0.46041 | 134 |
10m | ||
Reading | Speed | Distance |
m/s | mm | |
1 | 0.24802 | 39 |
2 | 0.22543 | 40 |
3 | 0.23832 | 40 |
4 | 0.22957 | 43 |
5 | 0.21758 | 43 |
MARBLE RESULTS
Diameter =1.6cm |
Weight = 4.2g (1d.p) |
Conclusion
Confidence on the Conclusion
On the whole, I am quite confident with my conclusion. I attained a set of results which strongly suggested that speed of the ball had the effect on the ball’s breaking distance. Although, as most of the graphs show, many of the range bars are a bit large, meaning that the results are not very reliable as there is a large scatter of data, perhaps this was because of the ramp bent as the ball rolled on or that the light gate wasn’t positioned correctly at that time, justifying the reason why its results was so scattered.
Throughout the experiment, I had obtained many outliers in my results, as shown by the 2 Tables. These may have occurred because of any of the following reasons:
- On some repeats, the position of the light gate wasn’t in the same place as other repeats or therefore making
Despite these outliers, the majority of the averages were close to or on the curve of best fit, so after eliminating outliers, the results were reliable on the whole.
This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Forces and Motion section.
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Here's what a teacher thought of this essay
The initial discussion about the factors affecting stopping distance was very thorough and technical vocabulary was used well, eg. work, kinetic energy, etc.The equation that needs to be used is Work done = kinetic energy.
Fd = 1/2 mv^2
so if F is constant, then a graph of d against v^2 should give a straight line.
The data was extensive but there was less discussion about uncertainty and the graph could be plotted more effectively. 4 stars
Marked by teacher Pete Golton 06/06/2013