Acceleration of

Gravity
Parker Bass, James Hazzard,
Jordan Pollock, Quyen Vo

Historical Background
Galileo dropping weight from Leaning
Tower of Pisa:
According to a biography by Vincenzo Viviani, Galileo's pupil, in
1589 the Italian scientist, Galileo Galilei dropped two balls of
different masses from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to demonstrate
that time of descent was independent of mass.

Physics Background
Universal law of Gravitation - two bodies in the universe attract
each other with a force that is directly proportional to the product
of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the
distance between them
Newtons gravitational force is proportional to the mass of the body
(R is radius of Earth)
Exerts force on all objects
Gravitational field strength - all objects on Earth experience 9.8N of
force upon every 1kg

Purpose/Problem
Prove that two objects of unequal mass
fall at the same rate.

Procedures
1. Setup measuring board
2. Drop weights from a specified height by placing the 2
weights on the same surface, flipping it fast to ensure
that both weights are falling at the same time
3. Using a video camera, or cell phone, record the weights
falling
4. Slow the video down, using some sort of video editing
software, to make sure that the weights are falling at
the same rate

Materials
Video Camera/Cell Phone
200g Mass
500g Mass
Measuring Board
Book
iMovie

Hypothesis
If two weights of different mass (500g
and 200g) are dropped at the same time
from the same height, then they will land
at the same time.

Observations
Weights dropped
from 94.5cm
According to the
video, they fell at
the same rate

Calculations
200g Weight
F = ma
F = (.2kg)(9.8)
F = 1.96N

500 weight
F = ma
F = (.5kg)(9.8)
F = 4.90N

Experiment Errors
Since the weights were dropped from
the book, the weights can slide, which
could cause them not to fall at the
exact time
On our first try, we dropped each weight
separately - there was no way to
ensure that both weights are dropped

Experiment Errors
When making two
seperate videos,
and playing them
side by side, theres
no guarantee that
theyre dropped at
the same time.

Conclusion
From analyzing the video and calculations, the hypothesis that states
if two weights of different mass (500g and 200g) are dropped at the
same time from the same height, then they will land at the same
time was accepted. All objects free fall at the same rate regardless
of their mass. Acceleration depends upon force and mass.

was derived from

It all connects! Magic!

Works Cited
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/newtlaws/Lesson3/Free-Fall-and-Air-Resistance
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/circles/Lesson-3/
Newton-s-Law-of-Universal-Gravitation