Name______________________ Date_____________

PHYS 1401 General Physics I

Equipment
Freefall Timer & Apparatus Clamp, 90
Steel Ball (2 different sizes) Meter Stick w/ 2 post clamps
Ring Stand, 120cm Graphical Analysis Software

Height  y

Figure 1 Photo and Schematic of Freefall Apparatus

Overview
You will measure the time it takes for a steel ball to fall from various heights.
From this data you will be able to calculate the acceleration due to gravity, g. By
repeating the experiment with a second steel ball of different mass, you can see if the
mass of the ball noticeably influences the measured acceleration due to gravity.

Introduction
An object dropped near the Earth’s surface will fall with an acceleration of g,
independent of its mass. This was the famous observation of Galileo. This is true
specifically when air resistance effects are negligible. Thus in a vacuum, a feather falls as
quickly as a stone. The kinematic equation that describes the vertical position of an object
at any time if it is dropped from rest is:
y  12 gt 2 . (1)

Page 1 of 5
RVS Labs
For this particular formulation, y is taken to be positive in the downward direction and its
initial position is taken to be zero. Thus, as time goes by the object is at greater positive
values of y.

If we plot y vs. t for this equation, then the resulting graph will be that of a parabola. So
in order to produce a linear graph we will need to plot y vs. t2. Remembering that the
general formula for a straight line is:
y  mx  b , (2)
we can match equation (1) to this form by letting x = t2, m = 1/2*g & b=0. Notice that
the slope of the line would be half the acceleration due to gravity, so we would have to
2
find the slope and then double our value. However, if we were to plot y vs. 12 t then
when we match this to the formula for a straight line we find that:
m g
x  21 t 2 . (3)
b0
Notice that in this case the slope of the line for this plot is identically the acceleration due
to gravity! This is preferable to the previous situation, so we will make plots of y vs.
1 2
2 t to analyze for our lab.

You are to experimentally determine the parameters m and b in equation set (3). You will
accomplish this by measuring y and t for various heights of fall for a steel ball. After your
data has been acquired you will plot y vs. x, where x takes on the value shown in equation
(3). The slope of your best-fit line will be your value of g, and the intercept will be a
further check on the validity of equation set (3). You will then repeat this for a second
steel ball of a different mass.

Procedure
1. Set up the ball release mechanism on a vertical stand that will allow various heights y
to be arranged for the mechanism.
2. Place the steel ball in the mechanism and set the tightening screw so that the ball is
secure.
3. Place the stop timer directly underneath the ball.
4. Measure the height y as shown in Figure 1.
5. Reset the timer. Release the ball. Record y and t for the fall. Repeat two more times.
6. Repeat at different heights for a total of five data points.
7. Repeat the data taking process for the second ball.
Data Tables
For Ball #1:
Trial height time 1 time 2 time 3 Median 1
2 t2
(m) (s) (s) (s) time (s2)
(s)
1
2
3
4
5

For Ball #2:

Data Analysis
1. For each trial determine the median value of your three measured times. It will be the
middle value when you arrange them in ascending order.
2. You should then square the median value and then divide it by two in order to obtain
2
a value for 12 t .
2
3. Make a high quality, full-page graph of your measured values of Height versus 12 t
for each ball. Make sure that your graph has an appropriate title and that the axes are
labeled and indicate their units. You may do this either with a graphing program or
on graph paper. If you use a computer make sure that the regression line and
regression equation are both shown on the printout. If you use graph paper draw a
best-fit straight line with a straight edge and calculate the slope of this line on the
graph. You should also draw in an acceptable steepest/shallowest lines and calculate
their slopes in order to obtain an uncertainty for your value of the acceleration due to
gravity. Show your calculation on the graph page.

Freefall – small ball

y
(m)

[1/2]t2 (s2)
4. The slope of your best-fit line will be your value for “g”. Determine the acceleration
due to gravity with uncertainty for each ball. Remember to use the appropriate rules
for uncertainties.
5. Finally you should strive to answer the following questions in your Results and
Conclusions section of your lab report: Is the accepted value of “g” within the range
of uncertainty for each measurement that was made? What is the percent difference
of your values for g for each measurement from the accepted value of 9.80 m/s2? Do
the values that you obtained for the two different balls experimentally agree with each
other? Did you experimentally verify Galileo’s observation that all objects fall at the
same rate?
6. You should also note if there are any trends in the data that you have taken and/or
analyzed values.

Report
I. Introduction. You should try to answer the following questions: What are you
going to do? How are you going to do it? This section will essentially be the
standard Purpose and Procedure sections that you may have encountered in other
lab courses. You should succinctly tell me in 2-3 paragraphs the answer to these
two questions. Note: you are not required to reproduce in detail the lab
procedure, but you should give the gist of what occurred in the lab. You need to
especially note if there were any differences in your actual procedure from the
stated procedure in the lab. You should explain why you made these changes.
II. Data & Analysis. Present your data in a neat and organized manner. Use units
where necessary. Clearly outline any calculations you made showing your
numbers and units. Make neat and clean graphs following the correct graphing
procedures. Label fully and show on the graph any analyses you are making from
the graph.
III. Results & Conclusions. Clearly answer any questions that were given with the
lab. You should report all of the major calculated values obtained through out the
lab. If you were supposed to have done a comparison then make sure that that
 calculation is included here. Make sure that you address all of the issues that
were originally raised in the purpose of the lab.
IV. Error Analysis. You should also indicate several possible sources of error. Note
that human error is not an acceptable answer for this section. This will indicate
that you performed the experiment incorrectly and you will be docked points for
this answer.