Physics 1: Gravity Lab
Written by Elena Koslover
In this lab you will explore the motion of falling objects. As an object begins to fall, it moves faster and faster (its velocity increases) due to the acceleration caused by the Earth’s gravity. We will use a microphone and computer to accurately measure short time intervals. This will allow us to see how distance traveled by a falling object varies with time, to determine the magnitude of gravitational acceleration, and to show that heavy and light objects fall at the same rate.
Each group of 2-3 students will need
- 1 laptop with microphone (either built-in or separately attached), Excel, and with the program Audacity installed (downloaded from audacity)
- 1-2 calculators
- 1 meter stick (with metric markings)
- 1 piece of string with a metal weight tied at the end and 5 metal washers tied along it at 30cm separation
- 3 pieces of aluminum foil (about 6in long, but the precise size does not matter)
- 1-2 thick textbooks
- 2 large marbles
- 1 ping-pong ball
- 1 cardboard tube (eg: from a paper towel roll)