Kinematics in Two Dimensions on the Air Table Lab#4

Danielle Hom Due Date: Sept. 27, 2008 Date of Experiment: Sept. 20, 2008 Physics 231

STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE The purpose of this experiment was to examine the trajectory, velocity, and acceleration of a puck on the air table. Instead of covering uniformly accelerated motion in one dimension, this lab covered the movement of the puck in two dimensions. The puck was simultaneously moving along the x and y directions meaning we were able to determine two sets of values: acceleration and velocity in the y direction and acceleration and velocity in the x direction. THEORY When an object is launched at an angle , in relation to the horizon on a two dimensional path, the magnitude of its velocity can be represented as . Because the object is moving in two dimensions, each axis, x and y, will have their own initial velocities. For the x axis, this is determined as cos and sin for the y axis. In an environment without friction, velocity along the x axis will be constant over time without any acceleration in xs direction. This is expressed as = cos . On the other hand, there is an acceleration in the negative y direction which is opposite of the initial velocity for y. Since the acceleration in ys direction counteracts the initial velocity, it produces a slightly different equation indicating the direction of acceleration: = sin ayt. Like the previous lab dealing with the air table, here we also found the displacement values. This was simply done by subtracting the initial coordinate from the final coordinate. In contrast to the previous lab, this lab required us to find both the displacement for x and the displacement for y as we were dealing with two dimensions. Likewise, average velocity, displacement over change in time, was also defined in terms of x and y. = x / t and = y / t

We also employed the same concept that instantaneous velocity is equal to the average velocity at the middle of a time interval. The puck was launched in an arc-like motion from one end to the other on an inclined table. The air table approximated a frictionless surface and because it was inclined, it produced acceleration in the negative y direction. The two dimensional path provided x and y components that allowed students to solve for and , instantaneous velocity at the middle of time intervals. EQUIPMENT LIST Air table with sparktimer Carbon paper and recording paper Protractor and ruler

PROCEDURE The single leg of the air table was raised by a small block to create an incline. Then, the sparktimer was set to 10.0 Hertz to produce a spark every 0.100 seconds. This value of 0.100s

represented the change in time and was recorded on the data table. A piece of recording paper was laid on top of the carbon paper. With one puck parked in the bottom corner, students practiced launching the puck in a motion that would produce a parabola-like path. When the recording paper was lifted, it would produce a reverse image of the spark path so it was easier to launch the puck from the lower right hand corner. This way, when the paper was flipped, you would be presented with the traditional x and y axis that started on the left hand side. The sparktimer was started simultaneously as the puck was launched from the lower right hand corner, moved upwards towards the center of the table, then downwards towards the lower left hand corner. Once the puck reached the end, the sparktimer was stopped. The recording sheet was removed and the origin was labeled as zero, with the consecutive points labeled 1-15. An x and y axis were constructed by drawing two perpendicular lines through the origin point. The perpendicular distance of each point from the y axis was measured and coordinate was recorded under x in the data table. Similarly, the perpendicular distance of each point from the x axis was recorded as the y coordinate. DATA Data Table
t(s) 0.000 0.100 0.200 0.300 0.400 0.500 0.600 0.700 0.800 0.900 1.000 1.100 1.200 1.300 1.400 1.500 x(m) 0.000 0.012 0.027 0.041 0.054 0.070 0.084 0.100 0.113 0.127 0.140 0.155 0.170 0.185 0.199 0.215 y(m) 0.000 0.042 0.083 0.114 0.143 0.164 0.180 0.190 0.193 0.191 0.185 0.171 0.153 0.128 0.098 0.065 0.014 0.013 0.015 0.015 0.015 0.014 0.016 -0.002 -0.006 -0.014 -0.018 -0.025 -0.030 -0.033 0.140 0.130 0.150 0.150 0.150 0.140 0.160 -0.020 -0.060 -0.140 -0.180 -0.250 -0.300 -0.330 0.850 0.950 1.050 1.150 1.250 1.350 1.450

Calculations Table
x(m) 0.012 0.015 0.014 0.013 0.016 0.014 0.016 0.013 y(m) 0.042 0.041 0.031 0.029 0.021 0.016 0.010 0.003 (m/s) 0.120 0.150 0.140 0.130 0.160 0.140 0.160 0.130 (m/s) 0.420 0.410 0.310 0.290 0.210 0.160 0.100 0.030 t(s) 0.050 0.150 0.250 0.350 0.450 0.550 0.650 0.750

= 0.010 m/s2 t= 0.100s )0 = 0.136 m/s

= -0.564 m/s2 )0 = 0.467 m/s

r = 0.362

r = -0.998

ANALYSIS OF DATA Individual displacements were derived by taking a final coordinate and subtracting an initial coordinate from it. All of the x values were determined by the equation: x = and all of the y values were determined with the equation: y = . We were looking for the instantaneous velocity at the middle of each interval, therefore we divided each displacement by the time, 0.100s to give us and . Using a graphing calculator, the acceleration, initial velocity, and r value was calculated for each axis. When the data from the calculations table was graphed, the points did not necessarily form a straight line. The linear least square fit was used to find the best straight line fit for the data. Using the equation y = mx + b, we replaced m with or ; b was replaced with the corresponding velocity, )0 or )0. The r value told us the measure of fit of data to the straight line. When reviewing the data, we saw that the there was truly an acceleration in the negative y direction as discussed in the theory section. Unfortunately when reviewing the r value for the x axis, there appeared to be a problem. The r value should have been close to 1.000 or -1.000. After repeating the calculation multiple times on the graphing calculator and manually, reviewing the data in both tables, the r value was still 0.362. Also, the air table only approximated a frictionless surface but did not completely eliminate friction, so we expected a slight negative acceleration in the x direction. Here, acceleration in the x direction was 0.010 m/s2. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS Aside from the discrepancy in the expected acceleration along the x axis, my other calculations came out as expected. To find the angle at which the puck was launched, you could . either measure it with a protractor on the recording paper or use the formula: = My physical measurement with the protractor for the angle of launch was 72 while the calculated angle was 73.7 . Using the angle at which the air table was inclined, students compared the calculated value of g with the formula: g = . In the experiment Uniformly Accelerated Motion on the Air Table, we calculated the angle of incline to be 3.356 . Plugging 3.356 into the equation, we got a calculated g that was -9.634 m/s2. The equations for determining g and were like checks for the calculated data. Our values in both instances were able to check out, but there was still the lingering that did not fit. Double checking the data recorded did not provide any insight to the discrepancy. Having

turned in the recording, it is suspected that the x and y axis that were constructed were not entirely perpendicular or that there was human error in recording the coordinates. CONCLUSION Launching a puck on an inclined air table provided a path of motion that was expressed in two dimensions. The displacement of the puck was measured in relation to the x and y direction. When a series of values were obtained, the displacement for x and y was calculated. The average velocity of the puck was equal to the instantaneous velocity at the middle of the time interval. Then, to determine instantaneous velocity, we divided the displacement by the time interval. We expected an acceleration in the negative y direction and very small negative value for acceleration in the x direction due to friction. Once the initial velocities for x and y were calculated, the formula = was employed to find the angle at which the puck was launched. This was compared to the actual angle measured on the recording. Finally, the calculated value for g was compared to the experimental value, the experimental being derived from dividing by .