I will enter all my readings into a number of tables such as the one above. After collecting all of my data, I will set it out on a graph putting the drop height against the time.
I have decided to time each height for each cake case 3 times then take an average time so that I can get more reliable results.
How will I present my data?
Drop
Height
Time
Once I have collected my data I will enter in suitable scales on the axes according to what my results will be.
Background Information
Aristotle (350 BC) believed that heavier objects fell faster than lighter ones.
In Newton’s first law he stated that… If the forces on mass are balanced, then
- If its at rest it stays at rest
- If it’s moving, it keeps on moving at a constant speed in a straight line.
As a word equation this can be represented as:
Force of Gravity (weight) = Force of air resistance
(Downward force) (Upward force)
According to this equation, because there is no resultant force on the object, therefore it continues to move at a constant speed in a straight line.
Prediction
I believe that the more cake cases that u put together (increasing the weight) the faster it will drop to the ground and the bigger the terminal velocity, because as the weight increases there is a greater force of gravity.
1 case 2 cases 3 cases
A
W
4 cases 5 cases
W=A Which is Terminal velocity
= Upward Force (Air Resistance)
= Downward Force (Gravity / Weight)
From 1 to 5 cake cases the down ward force is getting greater and greater which, according to Terminal Velocity, should mean that the air resistance increases and the over all speed will get greater.
Safety
Handle the equipment with care, and confer with the teacher before carrying out the experiment. And wear protective gloves because of possible paper cuts.
My Results
1 Cake Case
2 Cake Cases
3 Cake Cases
4 Cake Cases
5 Cake Cases
Conclusion
My prediction was that the heavier the cake case was, the faster that it will drop. From the graphs and the results I have collected, my prediction was true.
Evaluation
The majority of my results were accurate, but when the drop height was placed to a height of 30cm, some of the lighter cake cases did drop faster than the heavier ones, which did seem very strange to me. This part of my experiment did not support my prediction, which was that heavier cake cases dropped faster than lighter ones. These were uncharacteristic results. The reason why I may have gotten these anomalous results may have been due to human error.
I believe that I should have repeated the recordings for the 30cm drop height so that I could possibly get more reliable results.
The method that I used is a high quality method so I would stick to it.
I gathered a suitable range of results for my experiment to be able to come to a reliable conclusion.
From my graphs there does seem to be a pattern in my results and therefore the patters would continue beyond the range of data that I collected.
