Yesterday we did a lab called "Velocity Lab."For this lab we had to solve the problem "What is the velocity of a golf ball and a ping pong ball when dropped from 1, 2, and 3 meters." We developed the hypothesis "If we drop the golf ball, then it will have a higher velocity than the ping pong ball." To test this hypothesis, we used two ways. The first way we tested our hypothesis was dropping both the ping pong ball and the golf ball three times and recording the time it took for it to travel from 1, 2, or 3 meters and hit the ground, then taking the average time. The second way we tested it was dropping the ball from 1, 2, and 3 meters but recording our results with a sensor. Our results are as follows:
Ping Pong Ball (Measured with time and math, not sensor)
1 meter
Time: .2s .4s .2s
Velocity: 3.7m/s/s
2 meters
Time: .6s .7s .6s
Velocity: 3.17m/s/s
3 meters
Time: 1s 1s .9s
Velocity: 3.09m/s/s
Golf Ball (Measured with time and math, not sensor)
1 meter
Time: .4s .4s .4s
Velocity: 2.7m/s/s
2 meters
Time: .5s .5s .6s
Velocity: 3.77m/s/s
3 meters
Time: .7s .7s .7s
Velocity: 4.29m/s/s
After we found the meter the "amish way" we tried our to find the velocity using the sensor. Unfortunately, the sensor did not work as well as we hoped. The sensor did not work at all at first and then when it did work, it gave us VERY inaccurate readings.
From our results, I partially my hypothesis. For the most part, except for the one meter test, the golf ball had a MUCH higher velocity than the ping pong ball. It would have been interesting to compare the results from the "amish way" to the sensor, but unfortunately that did not work. If i were to do this lab again I would spend more time than I did fiddling with the sensor. Overall it was a good lab.
