Uniform Motion Essay

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Uniform Motion Abstract: In this experiment, we will devise a course in which a ball will retain uniform motion (motion with a constant speed). We will set up tracks horizontally so that the force of gravity doesn’t increase the ball’s speed; the initial force of the ball rolling down a ramp onto the track will keep the ball rolling horizontally. Theory: “Kinematics is the branch of classical mechanics that describes the motion of bodies and systems without consideration of the forces that cause the motion.” Uniform motion falls under the category of kinematics. If an object is in uniform motion, it will never increase or decrease in speed (minus the loss of speed do to friction and air resistance). Procedure: We first obtain a steel ball, wedge, and tracks in order to design the experiment. We set three tracks horizontally along the table with the wedge at one end (as seen in the picture below). Then, with the ball at the top of the wedge, we released the ball. To record our speed, we set up timers at the beginning where the ball was dropped, at the start of the second track, and at the start of the third track. Speed is recorded by the distance traveled divided by the time it took for an object to go that distance. Each track was 123 centimeters. Once we had our speeds we can determine if our system is in uniform motion. If the speeds are about the same, (the speeds will be slightly off from one another because of friction) then the system is in uniform motion. Raw data and numerical analysis: After the ball rolled down the ramp and through the course for three different trial, these are the numbers we produced: Track Time (sec) Track Time (sec) Track Time (sec) 1-123cm 1.4 1-123cm 1.29 1-123cm 1.50 2-246cm 3.17 2-246cm 2.86 2-246cm 3.15 3-369cm 5.02 3-369cm 4.7 3-369cm

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