Free Fall Lab

Abstract
If a book and a ball are both dropped at the
same time, which one would fall to the
ground faster? Most people would answer
that the book would fall faster due to its
heavier mass. However, the free fall lab
proved that the acceleration of a falling
object on earth is -9.81m/s2 regardless of its
mass, which means that both objects reach
the ground at the same time. This happens
due to the gravity on earth. It is important
to know gravity is constant so we can live
normally without worrying about gravity
being different in different places. For
example, on the surface of earth people can
walk without floating, as it is on the moon,
due to the constant acceleration of gravity;
while on Jupiter, because the gravity is really
strong, people would stick to the ground. It
also helps physicians calculate other things
such as velocity of a falling object by
knowing that acceleration on earth is always
-9.81m/s2 regardless of anything else such
as mass. The results that were collected from
the lab solved the problem of identifying the
acceleration of a falling objects with
different masses on the surface of earth. In
order to find the answer to the problem, a
motion sensor was placed parallel to the
ground at the height from where the book
was dropped. The motion sensor tracked the
position and velocity of the falling book(s).
The acceleration always came out to be the
same, -9.81m/s2, whether it was one book or
two books or even three books. The results
of the lab met the objective, which was to
find the acceleration on the surface of the
earth.

Andrina Ajo, Ardiana Laskaj, Melina Shoraji

Objectives

The aim of completing of the Free Fall

lab was to find out how mass affect
the acceleration of all falling objects
on the surface of earth. After
completing the lab, the data from the
lab proved that gravity has the same
affect on all falling objects regardless
of the objects mass. This means no
matter how heavy an object is, it will
accelerate and reach the ground at the
same time as a very light objects. By
knowing that acceleration is the same
for any free fall, it is easier to
calculate velocity, time, and distance
of any falling object.

Results:
- One of the graphs shows the falling rate for one book, and the
other graph shows the falling rate for two books. Both graphs have
the same slope which means that the acceleration is the same.
- The graphs show that the velocity for both falling objects is
increasing at a constant rate. By knowing that the velocity is
increasing at the same rate, this proves that the acceleration is
constant no matter the mass of the falling object (-9.81).

Methods:
To conduct the research, a
motion sensor was placed on the top
of a table. The books were dropped
under the motion sensor, and it
collected the data. The motion sensor
was attached to the computer. By using
a computer program, the data from the
motion sensor was transferred into the
computer to create a graph of the
motion. The graph was used to find
the slope, which is the acceleration of
falling object.

Conclusion:
After completing the lab, it was discovered
that the acceleration is always be the same
for every falling object on the surface of
Earth. The size or the mass of the falling
object does not matter. This is important to
know because it helps people and physicists
calculate other things they might need like
time, distance, initial or final velocity
without having to solve for acceleration as
long as there is a constant velocity.