Motion Down an Incline Plane

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Objects traveling, or accelerating down an incline is a very important basis for many aspects of life, such as in travel, sports, and everyday life. By deriving equations using Newton’s Second Law, it is possible to find a way to derive pertinent information about an object traveling down an incline to be able to use it on a daily basis. By using a program called Data Studio with a motion sensor and a cart on a ‘frictionless ramp’, it is possible to find the acceleration in the x direction of varying angles of incline. The larger the angle (θ), the faster the object will travel. In this case friction will be neglected, and Data Studio will calibrate the length of the ramp. As an object moves down an incline, its’ speed increases with respect to time. This information can be used to determine the acceleration of objects down frictionless surfaces, and may help in future applications. As an object accelerates down a ‘frictionless ramp’, acceleration is increasing in the positive x direction, as seen in Diagram 1. The larger the angle of incline, the faster the acceleration will occur. By referring to Table 5, the angles in descending order by Trial are 2, 3, 1, 4, and concurrently, the accelerations decreases. Initially, it was predicted this idea was predicted, and the outcome agreed. For the local committee do determine if a proposed water slide is safe for the town’s swimming pool, I would recommend determining the height of the side, and the length of the boards which the children would be sliding down. Then, apply an appropriate angle to Equation 2 to determine what acceleration the child will have down the given angle from the height and length (hypotenuse) measurements for the safety analysis. The assessment cannot be based solely on the acceleration of the child, as the height and length of the slide are necessary. The limitations on the

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