Force & Motion: Freefall

Directly observe and graph in real time the motion of an object during freefall.

Freefall

As the ball falls and bounces, students see the data of position vs. time represented. In the graph below, the collected data is displayed as velocity for further student analysis. Enlarge image

Lab Summary:

By directly observing the motion of an object as it goes from rest to freefall, your students will develop their understanding of gravity.

Using a Motion Sensor, students see the relationship between the motion of a ball and the evolution of a graph on a screen in real time.

Your students then analyze their graphed data to determine for themselves the magnitude of the acceleration due to gravity.

Download Free Lab  (PDF, 308 KB)

(student version)

Method:

Use a Motion Sensor to measure the motion of a ball as it falls and bounces several times.




Here's What You Need:

Freefall

Students first must consider the meaning of positive and negative velocity in this experiment setup. Students then choose the freefall region of the dataset for analysis, and discover the value for acceleration due to gravity using the linear fit tool. Enlarge image

Probeware

Other Materials

Lab Manual:

This activity is included in Physics with the Xplorer GLX (PS-2826), complete with Teacher Information pages, student instructions and handouts, and sample data for a total of 35 probeware-based labs. For your convenience, we offer bundles which provide the probeware necessary for the activities in the manual. For more information on these resources and bundles, click here.