Copyright © Michael Richmond.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Measure the motion of a cart down a ramp
Your goal in this experiment is to describe the
motion of a cart as it rolls down a gentle ramp.
Your tools: meter stick, stopwatch, graph paper.
- Place one wooden block on the table to prop up one end
of the ramp.
Put a cart on the ramp and let it roll down -- make sure
it moves smoothly. You may need to clean the track with
a paper towel.
- Measure the time it takes for the ramp to roll the following
distances: 10 cm, 20 cm, 40 cm, 70 cm.
Make 3 trials at each distance.
Write your results in a table.
- Compute the average time it takes for each distance,
plus the uncertainty in each time. Estimate the
uncertainty in each distance travelled, too.
- Fill in the table below to compute the average velocity
of the cart during each interval, and the uncertainty
in each velocity.
- Make one graph showing distance travelled
as a function of time.
- Make one graph showing velocity of the cart as a function
of time.
- Use the graph of velocity versus time to find the acceleration
of the cart, plus an uncertainty.
If you have time ...
- What is the angle of the ramp above the horizontal?
Use the angle to compute a theoretical value for the
acceleration of the cart (ask an instructor for help
if you don't know how).
Compare the theoretical acceleration to the actual
acceleration. Are they the same to within the
uncertainties?
Copyright © Michael Richmond.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.