Menu

Lesson

Print

Pre-Chapter Exploration

HOLT PHYSICS

Discovery Lab
MATERIALS
battery-operated toy

Motion
SAFETY
Tie back long hair, secure loose clothing, and remove loose jewelry to prevent their being caught in moving or rotating parts. Perform this experiment in a clear area. Moving masses can cause serious injury.

OBJECTIVES
Observe objects moving at a constant speed and objects moving with changing speed. Graph the relationships between distance and time for moving objects. Interpret graphs relating distance and time for moving objects.

car block, book, or clay graph paper masking tape metal ball meterstick stopwatch track wooden block

Moving at a constant speed

Procedure
1. Find a clear, flat surface a few meters long to perform your experiment. Make sure the area is free of obstacles and traffic. Choose a starting point for your car. Mark this point with masking tape, and label it starting point.
HRW material copyrighted under notice appearing earlier in this book.

2. Start the car, and place it on the starting point. Release the car (your lab partner should start the stopwatch at the same time). Let the car move in a straight line for 2.0 s. Notice where the car is after 2.0 s. Repeat for several trials, until you find the point that the car consistently crosses after 2.0 s. Mark this point with masking tape, and label it 0.00 m. Throughout this lab, you will start the car at the original starting point, but you will begin to measure the distance and time of the cars motion when the car crosses the 0.00 m mark. 3. Start the car, and place it on the floor at the starting point. Observe the car as it moves. Be sure to start the stopwatch as the car crosses the 0.00 m mark.

Start

Stop

Car

Starting Point

0.00 m Distance Traveled

10.0 s

CHAPTER 2

Menu

Lesson

Print
4. After 10.0 s, mark the position of the car with the masking tape. Label this mark 10.0 s. 5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for 9.0 s, 8.0 s, 7.0 s, 6.0 s, 5.0 s, 4.0 s, 3.0 s, and 2.0 s. Be sure to label each point according to how much time it took for the car to get to that point from the 0.00 m mark. 6. Use the meterstick to measure the exact distance from the 0.00 m mark to each timed position mark. (Do not measure the distance from the starting point.) 7. For each position marked with tape, record the position and time in your notebook, using the appropriate SI units. Make sure to record all measured digits plus one estimated digit. 8. If your car has a multiple speed switch, set the car at a new speed and repeat steps 37.

Analysis
A. Did the car speed up or slow down as it traveled, or did it maintain the same speed? How can you tell? B. Make a graph of your data with time on the x-axis and position on the y-axis. Label each axis with the appropriate SI units. This graph tells you the position of the car at any time. Describe the shape of the graph. C. How far did the car travel in each 1.0 s time interval (2.03.0 s, 3.04.0 s, 4.05.0 s, etc.)? For example, to find the distance traveled in the 2.03.0 s time interval, subtract the cars position at 2.0 s from the cars position at 3.0 s, and record this value in your notebook. Repeat to find the change in position for each time interval. D. Predict the position of the car at 12.0 s. Explain your prediction. E. Use your answers from C to make a graph with time on the x-axis and change in position on the y-axis. Label each axis with the appropriate SI units. This graph tells you the distance traveled by the car in each time interval. Describe the shape of this graph. F. Compare the graphs you made in parts B and E. What similarities are there between these two graphs?

Moving at an increasing speed

Procedure
9. Support one end of the track 2 cm3 cm above the floor with clay as shown. Secure the track so that it does not move. The base of the track should rest on the floor. Place a block of wood on the floor against the base of the ramp. Mark a point near the top of the track with masking tape, and label it starting point. 10. Place the ball at the starting point. Hold the ball in place with a ruler.
Starting Point Ball Block Track Clay

8 HOLT PHYSICS Laboratory Experiments

HRW material copyrighted under notice appearing earlier in this book.

Menu

Lesson

Print

11. To release the ball, rapidly swing the ruler out of the way. Start the stopwatch the instant the ball is released. The ball will roll down the track. 12. Stop the stopwatch when the ball reaches the base of the track. 13. Repeat steps 1012. Adjust the angle of the track for each trial until you find a position at which it takes the ball slightly longer than 5.0 s to travel from the starting point to the bottom of the track. 14. When the track is secured in position at the determined angle, place the ball at the starting point. Hold the ball in place with a ruler. To release the ball, rapidly swing the ruler out of the way. Start the stopwatch the instant the ball is released. 15. After 4.0 s, mark the position of the ball with masking tape. Label it 4.0 s. 16. Repeat step 14, but mark the position of the ball after 3.0 s of travel. Label the tape 3.0 s. 17. Repeat step 14, but mark the position of the ball after 2.0 s of travel. Label the tape 2.0 s. 18. Measure the exact distance from the starting point to each position marked with tape. 19. For each position, record the distance and time in your notebook, using the appropriate SI units. Make sure to record all measured digits plus one estimated digit.

Analysis
G. Did the ball speed up or slow down as it traveled, or did it maintain the same speed? How can you tell? H. Make a graph of your data with time on the x-axis and position on the y-axis. Label each axis with the appropriate SI units. This graph tells you the position of the ball at any time. What shape does the graph have?
HRW material copyrighted under notice appearing earlier in this book.

I.

How far did the ball travel in each 1.0 s time interval (2.03.0 s, 3.04.0 s, 4.05.0 s, etc.)? To answer this, find the distance that the ball traveled in each 1.0 s time interval. For example, to find the distance traveled in the 2.03.0 s time interval, subtract the balls position at 2.0 s from the balls position at 3.0 s, and record this value in your notebook. Repeat to find the change in position for each time interval. Predict the position of the ball at 12.0 s. Explain your prediction.

J.

K. Use your answers from I to make a graph with time on the x-axis and change in position on the y-axis. Label each axis with the appropriate SI units. L. Compare the shape of the graphs you made in parts H and B. What differences are there between the graphs?

CHAPTER 2

Menu

Lesson

Print
Pre-Chapter Exploration

HOLT PHYSICS Laboratory Experiments Teachers Edition

Discovery Lab
Motion
OBJECTIVES
Students will observe objects moving at a constant speed and objects moving with increasing speed. graph the relationships between distance and time for moving objects. interpret graphs relating distance and time for moving objects.

and usually results in the ball falling off the track. An ideal and inexpensive track can be made from a 1.5 m length of a 2.5 cm extruded aluminum angle, found at any hardware store, propped up by clay to form a v-channel. A steel ball 2.5 cm in diameter will roll well on the track. Place a block or plastic cup at the base of the track to stop the ball when it reaches the bottom. This clarifies when the stopwatch should be stopped and prevents balls from rolling onto the floor and creating a safety hazard.

Planning
Recommended Time
1 lab period. Alternatively, each section of the lab could be performed separately on different days.

Classroom Organization
This lab should be performed by students working in groups of two or three. If time permits, have students perform more than one trial for each section. Safety warnings: If balls roll onto the floor, they will create a safety hazard. All trials should be performed in areas free of obstacles and traffic and where they will not obstruct emergency exits.

Materials
[for each lab group]
HRW material copyrighted under notice appearing earlier in this book.

battery-operated toy car block, book, or clay graph paper masking tape metal ball meterstick stopwatch grooved track wooden block Optional: data analysis and/or graphing software

Techniques to Demonstrate
If you are using graphing calculators or other graphing software, show students how to use the equipment to graph their data.

Checkpoints
Step 2: The starting point and the 0.00 m mark are separate because the car accelerates from rest to a constant velocity. To find the constant velocity, the accelerated motion is disregarded. Step 9: The track should resemble an inclined plane and should be securely supported by clay, a book, or a block.

Materials Preparation
Any slow-moving battery-powered car can be used. Typical speeds for battery-powered toy cars are about 0.35 m/s. Do not use the faster, radio-controlled models. A grooved track is essential for the acceleration experiment because even a small unevenness in a flat track will cause a rolling ball to deviate to one side

CHAPTER 2

T31

Menu

Lesson

Print
continued

HOLT PHYSICS Laboratory Experiments Teachers Edition

Step 12: Students should stop the stopwatch when the ball reaches the block or a plastic cup at the base of the ramp. Step 13: Students may need help adjusting the track so that the ball reaches the end of the track after 5.0 s. If the ball reaches the end of the ramp before 5.0 s, decrease the angle between the floor and the ramp. If the ball reaches the end of the ramp more than 0.2 s after 5.0 s, increase the angle between the floor and the ramp. Make sure ramps are secured firmly in place for each trial. Step 15: One student should mark the position of the ball on the ramp while the other student times the movement of the ball. Students clock the longer time interval first so that the ball will not slow down as it crosses over a line of masking tape marking a shorter time interval.

using a ruler to find the point where the line would correspond to the 12.0 s mark on the time axis. E. Answers will vary, but the graph should be a horizontal line. Some students may realize that this line is horizontal because the change in position was constant in each time interval. F. Both graphs are linear. G. The students may have been able to observe that the ball sped up as it traveled. From the graph, students may realize that the distance traveled increased in each time interval. H. Make sure students use the appropriate number of significant figures based on their measurements. The graph should resemble a parabolic curve. I. Answers will vary. The distance traveled should increase in each successive time interval. J. Answers will vary. Students should base their predictions on the parabolic trend of the graph by using a ruler to find the point where the curve would correspond to the 12.0 s mark on the time axis. K. Answers will vary. The graph should be a straight line pointing up and to the right. Some students may realize that this graph displays constant acceleration of the ball or that the velocity is changing. L. The ball that sped up has a graph of a parabolic curve, and the car that maintained a constant speed has a linear graph.

Answers To
Analysis
A. Because the car starts from rest, it speeds up between the starting point and the 0.00 m mark, but it maintains the same speed after the 0.00 m mark. The distance traveled in each time interval is the same. B. The graph shows a straight diagonal line pointing up and to the right. Make sure students use the appropriate number of significant figures based on their measurements. C. Answers will vary, but the distance traveled in each time interval should be nearly constant. D. Answers will vary. Students should base their predictions on the linear trend of the graph by

T32 HOLT PHYSICS Laboratory Experiments Teachers Edition

HRW material copyrighted under notice appearing earlier in this book.