Shaun Buxani 12R Measuring g Slope and Trolley Aim: In This investigation I will be assessed on the criteria data

collection and processing and conclusion and evaluation, Investigation experiment: I will have to find a value for the acceleration due to gravity by investigating the relation between the angle of a slope and the acceleration of a trolley down the slope. Apparatus Laptop Light Gates Slope Protractor Spirit Level Blocks of Wood Double Interrupted Cards Diagram of the

Method experiment

1. Check that the table is horizontal using the spirit level. 2. Set the ramp at an angle of 4 by adjusting the position and orientation of the wooden blocks. 3. Allow the trolley to accelerate down the acceleration down the ramp and pass through the light gates. 4. Record the acceleration as measured by the computer 5. Repeat 6. Continue the angles of 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 Variables Independent Variable- angle of slope Dependent Variable- Acceleration of the trolley Control Variables- Trolley (same trolley of mass 1kg), surface of slope (use same slope with a Formica surface), medium (air at 1atm), position of the light gate Other variables: Friction of the slope, How fast the wheel moves,

Given formula Formula for Force Force= mass x gravity x siny Where y ix the angle of the slope. Health and Safety- No water near the laptop, make sure you work in a 2 minimum so one person can set the experiment,

Shaun Buxani 12R Measuring g Slope and Trolley and one person can stop/count/record the repeats attempted

Figure 1- illustrates the readings of how fast the double interrupted cards stuck on the trolleys accelerates between the light gates.
Acceleration (0.0005ms-2) Angle of Slope (0.05) 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 Trial 1 0.34 0.68 1.00 1.37 1.70 2.04 2.37 2.73 Trial 2 0.34 0.68 1.01 1.38 1.70 2.02 2.38 2.72 Trial 3 0.34 0.68 1.02 1.37 1.70 2.04 2.38 2.71 4 0.34 0.69 1.03 1.37 1.69 2.06 2.36 2.70 5 0.34 0.68 1.04 1.36 1.70 2.04 2.37 2.69 Average (0.005ms-2) 0.34 0.68 1.02 1.37 1.70 2.04 2.36 2.71

Reason for angle of slope uncertainty- lowest decimal place the protractor can read is 0.10, so to obtain the uncertainty, I divided the lowest significant figure by 2, which gave me 0.050 Reason for acceleration uncertainty- Softwares uncertainty and stated on the Figure 2- illustrates the readings of how fast the average double interrupted cards stuck on the trolleys accelerates between the light gates. And this figure also shows the uncertainty with the percentage error.

Angle of Slope (0.05) 2.0 4.0 6.0

Average Acceleration(0.0005m/s2) 0.34 0.68 1.02

Percentage error of angle (%) 3 1 0.8

Percentage error of average acceleration (%) 0.1 0.07 0.04

Shaun Buxani 12R Measuring g Slope and Trolley

8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0

1.37 1.70 2.04 2.37 2.71

0.6 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.3

0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02

Calculation for percentage error for both angles of slope and average acceleration Percentage error for angle (%) = random uncertainty x 100 / angle of slope Percentage error for acceleration = random uncertainty x 100/average acceleration

Figure 3- illustrates the readings of how fast the double interrupted cards stuck on the trolleys moves between the light gates as the angle of slope rises, and also to show the best line of fit.

Gradient of the graph calculated by Intercept of the graph = 0.005 Uncertainty of the gradient =0.169 ((0.005 x 2) x 100/ (0.680.34)) + ((0.05 x 2) x 100 /4-2))% = 0.169 (2.94+5)% = 0.169 7.94% = 0.169 8% (1.s.f) = 0.1690.01ms-2/degree In the Conclusion part, my final numerical value for the acceleration of free fall, shown on figure 4 is 9.81ms-2 Conclusion As the angle of slope rises, the average acceleration of the trolley rises, and this is because the angle of the slope is getting closer to the acceleration of gravity free fall. We can say that the angle is directly proportional to the average acceleration, showing a positive correlation. This is because as the angle of the slope increases,

Shaun Buxani 12R Measuring g Slope and Trolley since the average acceleration of free fall is 9.81ms-1, the value sin y tends towards 1, causing g x sin y tending towards 9.81ms-2 How to find out Acceleration of free fall? Force= gravity x mass x sin y Force= Mass x acceleration So mass x acceleration = gravity x mass x sin y Which gives acceleration= gravity x sin y Gravity = acceleration / sin y

Figure 4- illustrates the readings of the ways to finding out gravity

Average Acceleration (0.0005m/s2) 0.34 0.68 1.02 1.37 1.70 2.04 2.37 2.71 Average (0.005m/s2) 9.81 Angle of Slope (0.05) 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 Method 0.34/ sin 2 0.68/ sin 4 1.02/sin 6 1.37/sin 8 1.70/ sin 10 2.04/ sin 12 2.37/ sin 14 2.71/ sin 16 Gravity 9.80 9.81 9.76 9.84 9.79 9.81 9.80 9.83

From the book Edexcel AS and A level Modular for advanced level Mathematics Mechanics 1 by Keith Pledger, we learn that gravity of free fall is a vertical component, and the increase in the elevation of the slope brings the slope closer to its original value 9.81ms-2. Which is why the acceleration value is different to the gravity of free fall (or the vertical component of acceleration) Actual Gravity of free fall= 9.81 m/s2 according to the IB Physics databooklet for the 2009 specification.

Shaun Buxani 12R Measuring g Slope and Trolley Results of Gravity of Earth = 9.81 m/s2 Formula for calculating the total percentage error in the average value for gravity of free fall is

Total error = ( Average experiment Value literature value) x 100 Literature Value (9.81-9.81) x 100 9.81 = 0% Total Percentage error = 0% Systematic uncertainties shown from the graph From my graph, there are is a systematic uncertainties shown on the graph, as from the graph, the angle with the slope of 00 gives an acceleration of 0ms-2. From the formula, acceleration= gravity x sin y sin y equals to 0, causing acceleration to be 0, which is not shown on the graph. On my graph, I got an intercept of 0.005, when it should have been 0. Reasons to use certain Uncertainties I used 0.5 as the uncertainty for the angle. This is because I used a protractor to measure this and the lowest measurement in a protractor is 1 degree. Therefore, because I am measuring to the closest degree, I have created an upper bound and a lower bound, which made me use an uncertainty of 0.50C. From the results, no anomalies are produced as each result including the random uncertainty produced intersect the trend line. There were no other interesting points, as I have received no random anomalies with the error bars taken into account with.

Evaluation Overall, the quality of the experiment is very good because the acceleration of free fall calculated to 2 decimal places produced the same literature value as quoted in the IB Physics data booklet and the A level Physics data booklet. However I believe it was co-

Shaun Buxani 12R Measuring g Slope and Trolley incident that the percentage error was zero percent as some of the results were a bit faulty. I believe this because there are some significant and random weaknesses that could have caused my results to be a bit faulty. The systematic uncertainties that affected my results are 1. Scratched protractor and some of the numbers are faded on the protractor. This can be a major issue as there can be some misinterpretations on the protractor, and this can affect my results big time, such as giving me a different gradient. 2. Thickness of the slope can affect measuring the angle of the slope, as it is difficult measuring from the same point every single time for different angles. This can be a major issue as this can affect the random uncertainty as well. 3. Some angles gave off an average acceleration that was off by a bit when calculating for the acceleration of free fall. E.g. 60 had an acceleration of free fall of 9.76ms-2, when the acceleration of free fall is 9.81ms-2. This can cause a major problem, as anomalies like these can affect the whole percentage error. 4. The slope was not evenly surfaced, which could have slowed down the trolley and have affected the results achieved. This can be a major issue as I can obtain some anomalies, which can affect the total percentage error achieved. The random uncertainties that affected my results are 1. The protractor- minor issue as the percentage uncertainty is really small. 2. The photo-gate and software- minor issue as well as the percentage uncertainty is less than 1 percent, causing a small effect on the results produced. 3. Mass of trolley is assumed to be 1kg- we were given the mass of the trolley and we assumed it to be 1kg. This could be a major issue as we were not given the random uncertainty of the trolley, which would be a big value that affected my experiment big time.

The ways I can improve my results is by reducing the random uncertainty, and also to reduce the systematic uncertainty To reduce the systematic uncertainty I need to 1. Ask a partner to read the angle measured in case if I misread the angle. This would make my answers more reliable. 2. Mark with a knife a line where you would measure the angle from as the slope is made out of wood. This would keep the results more consistent as the angle is more accurate, reducing the systematic uncertainty.

Shaun Buxani 12R Measuring g Slope and Trolley 3. Attempt more trials to make my results more reliable, and rather than obtaining a zero percentage error by co-incidence, I can obtain a zero percentage error with more reliable results. 4. Make sure the slope is less bumpy, so there would not be friction slowing down the trolley To reduce the random uncertainty I need to 1. Rather than using a protractor, I would use a digital inclinometer as inclinometers are designed to measure slopes, and some digital inclinometers have an uncertainty of 0.010 2. Use the software and a photo-gate that has an uncertainty of 0.0001ms-1 or 0.0002ms-2 as this can reduce my random errors by a bit. It may not be big, but the results will be more accurate. 3. Measure the mass of the trolley before starting the experiment as there can be an affect on the acceleration as F = m x a. This will give me an insurance that this experiment is more reliable as I will obtain a random percentage error from the mass of the trolley which can be included in my total percentage error.