Step 1: Assemble your ramp. Make it as sturdy as possible so
the steel balls roll smoothly and reproducibly. The ramp should not sway
or bend. The ball must leave the table horizontally. Make the horizontal
part of a ramp at least 20 cm long. The vertical height of the ramp should
be at least 30 cm.
Step 2: Use a stopwatch or photo gate to measure the time it
takes the ball to travel, from the first moment it reaches the level of
the table top to the time it leaves the tabletop. Divide this time interval
into the horizontal distance traveled on the table to find the horizontal velocity.
Release the ball from the same point on the ramp for each of three runs.
Do not permit the ball to strike the floor! Record the average
horizontal velocity of the three runs.
horizontal velocity = _________________
Step 3: Using a meter stick, measure the vertical distance
h the ball must drop from the bottom end of the ramp in order to land in
an empty soup can on the floor.
1. Should the height of the can be taken into account when measuring
the vertical distance h? If so, make your measurements accordingly. (short
answer response required)
h = __________________
Step 4: Using the appropriate equation from the discussion, find
the time t it takes the ball to fall from the bottom end of the ramp and
land in the can. Write the equation that relates h and t. (show your work)
equation for vertical distance: ____________________
t = __________________
Step 5: The range is the horizontal distance that a projectile travels. Predict the range of the ball. Write the equation you used and your predicted range.
equation for range : _______________________
predicted range R = ______________________
Place the can on the floor where you predict it will catch the ball.
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