Folding@Home Educational Project
Projects
Measuring Gravitational Acceleration by Fluorescence
Purpose:
- Students will understand how fluorescence techniques used in experimental
studies of Protein Folding.
- Students will experimentally determine the value of gravitational
acceleration
Materials:
- 2 pieces of children's fluorescence toys. Preferably flat toys like
stars.
- A stop watch, preferably one that can show fractions of seconds for
higher accuracy.
- Strips of poster board: about 5 " x 40 "
- A 3 " x 3 " square card.
Procedures:
- Fold the poster board strip 3" with 1 " on each side.
- Glue one of the fluorescent toys at the top of the strip, the other
one 1 meter below the other one.
- Measure the distance between the center fluorescent objects as accurately
as possible in meters.
- One student holds the 3" x 3 " card in front of the top
fluorescent toy, to block it completely from the view.
- Other lab group member stands right across with the stopwatch and
he/she makes sure he cannot see the top fluorescent toy.
- Darken the room.
- The student who is blocking the top toy gives a verbal signal and
drops it. As soon as the student with the stop watch sees the top toy
starts timing until the second toy is blocked temporarily.
Calculations:
d = vit+1/2gt2
where d = distance, vi = initial velocity, g = gravitational
acceleration, t = time interval
Since vi = 0 and solving for g we get:
g = 2d / t2
d = measured value from step 3.
t = measured time interval from step 7
Author: Tug Sezen
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