UNIVERSITI TEKNIKAL No. Dokumen: No. Isu.

/Tarikh:
MALAYSIA MELAKA BMCJ 2941/1 0/1-07-2010

DYNAMICS No. Semakan/Tarikh: Jum. Mukasurat

Free Fall 0/1-07-2010 6

OBJECTIVES

1. To measure the acceleration of the object under gravitational effect.

2. To establish relationship between the results and the theory of gravitational acceleration.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this laboratory session, students should be able to:

1. Distinguish between the experimental and theoretical values of gravitational acceleration
of free fall motion.
2. Extract useful scientific data from plotted graphs.

THEORY

All masses have gravitational attraction towards one another. A body on earth has a
value of gravitational attraction that keeps the body on the ground. When this body is lifted, it
carries an energy known as the potential energy P, which is calculated, based on the mass of
the body m, gravitational acceleration g and height h as shown below:

P  mgh (1)

When the body is released, gravitational force acts in forcing the body to fall to the
ground and the potential energy is converted to kinetic energy V, which is calculated based on
the mass of the body m and the value of speed of its fall v as shown below:

V = ½ mv2 (2)

Thus, gravitational acceleration plays an important role in determining the response of

a body when experiencing free fall. When a body falls to the ground from a certain height h ,
it falls at gravitational acceleration. The gravitational acceleration of earth is measured based
on gravitational constant, G, masses of bodies m1, m2 and the distance between bodies r2 as
shown below:
g  Gm1m2 r 2 (3)

Since the mass of earth is far larger than any body on earth, the value of mass of
body on earth is neglected. By taking the value of G = 6.6742 × 10-11 m3 kg-1 s-2, mass of
earth m1 = 5.98 × 1024 kg and the radius of earth r (6.378 × 106 m), a standard value for
gravitational acceleration is derived as 9.81 m/s2.

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 The forked light barrier measures the free fall phenomenon by measuring the time t
when the body, a steel ball in this case, enters the light barrier and exits the light barrier. Thus,
by knowing the diameter of the steel ball d, instantaneous velocity v is calculated using the
equation below:
v = d / t (4)

APPARATUS

1. 1 steel ball, 19 mm diameter 6. 1 stand rod, 25 cm

2. 1 forked light barriers 7. 1 vertical scale, 1 m long
3. 1 digital counter 8. 1 STE Si-Diode N 4007
4. 1 stand base, V-shape, 28 cm 9. 1 Set of weight, 50 gram each
5. 1 holding magnet with clamp

1
5

7 3
6

Figure 1 Time Measurement for Free Fall Experiment

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 Figure 2 Time Measurement for Free Fall t and Obscuration Time t

PROCEDURES

1. Setup the free fall apparatus as shown in the Figure 1.

2. For the distance of fall of 90 cm, shift the forked light barrier downwards by 90 cm.
3. Unscrew the knurled screw of the holding magnet, put the cord through the hole and
suspend a weight from it.
4. Adjust the arrangement so that the cord interrupts the light barrier.
5. Remove the cord and screw the knurled screw in again.
6. Placed the steel ball to the magnet, and screw the knurled screw back until the steel ball
just hanging underneath the magnet.
7. Suspend the steel ball, and start the measurement with the key START/STOP.
8. As soon as the ball has fallen down (shown in Figure 2), press the key START/STOP once
more.
9. Read the time of fall t as displayed in the digital counter.
10. Press the key t two times, record the obscuration time t in ms.
11. Repeat the step from no 2 to no 10 for different distances as stated in the given table.

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EXPERIMENTAL DATA

Table 1 Time of fall and obscuration time for different distance

Distance Time of fall, t (s) Obscuration time, t (ms)

of fall, h
(m) t1 t2 t3 Average t1 t2 t3 Average

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

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EXPERIMENTAL RESULT

Table 2 Calculated values for instantenous velocity and time of fall squared

Distance Average of Average of Instantenous Time of fall

of fall, h (m) Time of fall, t (s) obscuration time, Velocity, v (m/s) squared, t 2 (s2)
t (s)
0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

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DISCUSSION

1. By using the data measured, plot the graph of height-time ( s  t ), and draw the best-fit
curve of this graph. Explain your observation.
2. Plot the graph of height-time squared ( s  t 2 ) and draw the best-fit curve for this graph.
Calculate the value of slope and explain your observation.
3. Plot the graph of velocity-time ( v  t ) and draw the best-fit curve of this graph.
Calculate the value of slope and explain your observation. Why the slope in question
no 2 is different with question no 3?
4. Find the causes of errors between the experimental result that you obtained and the
theoretical value.

CONCLUSION
Write down your conclusion based on the experiment objectives.