Acceleration of a Freely Falling Object

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The Acceleration Of A Freely Falling Object

Introduction

        Any object that is dropped close to the surface of the Earth has the same acceleration, 9.8 meters per second every second, denoted as g.  As the height of the falling object increases, so does the acceleration of that object.  By varying the height of the fall of a ball, and observing the time it took the object to fall, we verified that g, the acceleration of a freely falling object, is approximately 9.8 meters per second every second.  This can be determined using the slope of a height vs. time squared graph, where the slope of the line is equal to g/2.

        ∆y = ½ g(∆t)2                                                (1)

Method

        We set up an apparatus, called a Pasco Free-Fall Adapter, to hold a metal ball at five different measurements of height, and obtain precision timing for the ball being dropped.  Once the ball was released, the time it took to fall the measured distance was collected and recorded.  The height h and the time t of the freely falling object are related by the following formula:

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h = ½ gt2                                                (2)

By using the relationship between height and time, as stated above, and plotting the data on a graph, we were able to determine the acceleration of the gravitational field strength g.  Equipment error was also found and taken into consideration.  

Analysis And Results

        Once the ball was released, the time it took to fall the measured distance was collected and recorded in the table that follows.  The ball was dropped from five different heights, measured with a meter stick, five trials at each height.

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