LabQuest

Picket Fence Free Fall

We say an object is in free fall when the only force acting on it is the earths gravitational force. No
other forces can be acting; in particular, air resistance must be either absent or so small as to be
ignored. When the object in free fall is near the surface of the earth, the gravitational force on it is
nearly constant. As a result, an object in free fall accelerates downward at a constant rate. This
acceleration is usually represented with the symbol, g.
Physics students measure the acceleration due to gravity using a wide variety of timing methods. In
this experiment, you will have the advantage of using a very precise timer connected to the
LabQuest and a Photogate. The Photogate has a beam of infrared light that travels from one side to
the other. It can detect whenever this beam is blocked. You will drop a piece of clear plastic with
evenly spaced black bars on it, called a Picket Fence. As the Picket Fence passes through the
Photogate, the LabPro interface will measure the time from the leading edge of one bar blocking the
beam until the leading edge of the next bar blocks the beam. This timing continues as all eight bars
pass through the Photogate. From these measured times, the program will calculate the velocities
and accelerations for this motion and graphs will be plotted.
P ic k e t
fe n c e

Figure 1

OBJECTIVE
Measure the acceleration of a freely falling body (g) to better than 0.5% precision using a
Picket Fence and a Photogate.

MATERIALS
LabQuest
LabQuestApp
VernierPhotogate
Physics with Vernier

PicketFence
clamporringstandtosecurePhotogate

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Picket Fence Free Fall

PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS
1. Inspect your Picket Fence. You will be dropping it through a Photogate to measure g. The
distance, measured from one edge of a black band to the same edge of the next band, is 5.0 cm.
What additional information will you need to determine the average speed of the Picket Fence
as it moves through the Photogate?
2. If an object is moving with constant acceleration, what is the shape of its velocity vs. time
graph?
3. Does the initial velocity of an object have anything to do with its acceleration? For example,
compared to dropping an object, if you throw it downward would the acceleration be different
after you released it?

PROCEDURE
1. Fasten the Photogate rigidly to a ring stand so the arms extend horizontally, as shown in Figure
1. The entire length of the Picket Fence must be able to fall freely through the Photogate. To
avoid damaging the Picket Fence, make sure it has a soft landing surface.
2. Connect the Photogate to DIG 1 of LabQuest and choose New from the File menu.
3. Now collect your free fall data. To do this, start data collection and wait for a moment.
4. Hold the top of the Picket Fence and drop it through the Photogate, releasing it from your grasp
completely before it enters the Photogate. Be careful when releasing the Picket Fence. It must
not touch the sides of the Photogate as it falls and it needs to remain vertical.
5. When the Picket Fence has completely passed through the Photogate, a graph of distance vs.
time and velocity vs. time will appear on the screen. Sketch the graphs on paper for later use.
6. Examine your velocity vs. time graph. The slope of a velocity vs. time graph is a measure of
acceleration. If the velocity graph is approximately a straight line of constant slope, the
acceleration is constant. If the acceleration of your Picket Fence appears constant, fit a straight
line to your data.
a.
b.
c.
d.

Choose Curve Fit from the Analyze menu.

Select Linear as the Fit Equation.
Record the slope of the linear curve fit in the data table.
Select OK.

7. To establish the reliability of your slope measurement, repeat Steps 36 five more times. Do not
use drops in which the Picket Fence hits or misses the Photogate. Record the slope values in the
data table. It is not necessary to include the graphs in your final report, just record the slopes in
the data table.

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Picket Fence Free Fall

DATA TABLE
Trial

Slope (m/s2)

Minimum

Maximum

Average

Acceleration (m/s2)
Acceleration due to gravity, g
Precision

m/s2
%

ANALYSIS
1. From your six trials, determine the minimum, maximum, and average values for the acceleration
of the Picket Fence. Record them in the data table.
2. Describe in words the shape of the distance vs. time graph for the free fall of the picket fence.
3. Describe in words the shape of the velocity vs. time graph. How is this related to the shape of
the distance vs. time graph?
4. The average acceleration you determined represents a single best value, derived from all your
measurements. The minimum and maximum values give an indication of how much the
measurements can vary from trial to trial; that is, they indicate the precision of your
measurement. One way of stating the precision is to take half of the difference between the
minimum and maximum values and use the result as the uncertainty of the measurement.
Express your final experimental result as the average value, the uncertainty. Round the
uncertainty to just one digit and round the average value to the same decimal place.
For example, if your minimum, average, and maximum values are 9.12, 9.93, and 10.84 m/s2,
express your result as g = 9.9 0.9 m/s2. Record your values in the data table.
5. Express the uncertainty as a percentage of the acceleration. This is the precision of your
experiment. Enter the value in your data table. Using the example numbers from the last step,
the precision would be
0.9
100% 9 0 0
9.9
6. Compare your measurement to the generally accepted value of g (from a textbook or other
source). Does the accepted value fall within the range of your values? If so, your experiment
agrees with the accepted value.

7. Inspect your velocity graph. How would the associated acceleration vs. time graph look? Sketch
your prediction on paper. Change the y-axis to acceleration. Comment on any differences
between the acceleration graph and your prediction. To examine the data pairs on the displayed
graph, tap any data point. As you tap each data point, the acceleration and time values are
displayed to the right of the graph. Note that the vertical scale of the graph does not include
zero. Is the variation as large as it appears?
8. Find the average acceleration by examining the values displayed to the right of the graph. How
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LabQuest 5
does this compare with the acceleration value for the same drop, determined from the slope of
the velocity graph?
9. Use a distance vs. time graph and a quadratic curve fit to determine g. Include the graph in your
answer with the equation of the quadratic fit displayed. (Highlight the Distance graph >
Analyze > Curve Fit > Distance > choose Quadratic)
10. Display the acceleration vs. time graph and note the apparent variation in acceleration. Examine
the data pairs on the displayed graph, by selecting any data point. Read the acceleration values
individually. Is the acceleration varying as much as it first appears? Why or why not? Include a
printout of you acceleration graph in your answer.
11. Would increasing the initial velocity by throwing the picket fence downward change any of the
parameters you measured? Try it. (Be sure to let go of the picket fence before it enters the
photogate). Include printouts of your displacement and velocity graphs in your answer. Be sure
to label the slope of the velocity graph using Logger Pro. (Highlight the velocity graph >
Analyze > Linear Fit)
12. Would throwing the Picket Fence upward, but letting go before it enters the Photogate, change
any of your measurements? Try it. Include the displacement and velocity graph printouts of the
upward throw in your answer. Be sure to label the slope of the velocity graph using Logger Pro.
(Highlight the velocity graph > Analyze > Linear Fit)
13. How would adding air resistance change the results? Try adding a loop of clear tape or torn
index card to the upper end of the Picket Fence. Drop the modified Picket Fence through the
Photogate and compare the results with your original free fall results. Does the acceleration
value fall outside of the range of values from your six trials in your data table? Include your
velocity graph printout in your answer. Be sure to label the slope of the velocity graph using
Logger Pro. (Highlight the velocity graph > Analyze > Linear Fit)

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