NAME: Brandon Sookdeo

DATE: Monday 6th January

TITLE: Planning and Design

PROBLEM
STATEMENT: It is sometimes said that The flight of a golf ball is determined more by air
resistance than by gravity. This is because when the golf ball is moving
quickly the drag force acting on the ball is larger than the weight of the ball.
This statement can be investigated in the laboratory by reversing the situation
using a stationary ball in a current off air. Design a laboratory experiment to
investigate how the force action on the stationary golf ball due to air flowing
past it varies with speed of the air.

HYPOTEHSIS: The flight of a golf ball is determined more by air resistance than by gravity.

AIM: To investigate how the force acting on a stationary golf ball due to air flowing
past it varies with the speed of the air.

MATERIALS
APPARATUS: - Golf ball
- Top pan balance
- Newton meter (spring balance)
- Airspeed indicator
- Wind pipe with fan mounted at one end
- Thin string

DIAGRAM:
 Fig.1 Diagram showing setup of apparatus to investigate whether the flight
of a golf ball is determined more by air resistance than by gravity.
THEORY: Whenever a solid body moves through a fluid, that is a liquid or gas, the
fluid resists motion. The object or body is subjected to an aerodynamic
force, known as the drag force, which acts in a direction opposing the
motion of the body. This force is generated as a result of the difference in
velocity between the solid object and the fluid, between which there is
motion. Drag force, or the force of air friction for a falling body, increases
with speed. An object which is falling in a fluid will eventually reach a
speed at which the force of air friction is equal and opposite to the force of
gravity. Here, the object no longer accelerates but has constant speed. This
speed with its direction is referred to as terminal velocity. Hence, drag force
can be referred to as a resistive force which opposes the motion of the
object. Drag is most common in frictional forces which act parallel to the
objects surface, as well as pressure forces which act perpendicular to the
objects surface, referred to as Lift. Factors which affect the drag force
include: the speed of the object, the material of the object, the viscosity of
the fluid and rotation as well as aerodynamics of the object.

During the flight of a golf ball, projectile motion is experienced. The forces
acting on it as it moves through the air is shown above. It is possible to
investigate whether the flight of a golf ball is determined more by air
resistance than by gravity based on the principles that the forces which exist
are- Weight, Tension and Drag. Weight is the downward force acting on the
ball due to gravity and is the product of the balls mass (m) and the
gravitational field strength (g). Tensional forces occuring in the string
oppose the motion of the ball downwards. Both forces moving in opposite
directions are balanced. Wind velocity opposes the downward force exerted
by the golf ball. The drag force can be calculated using the formula:

Drag force, FD = Initial weight Weight on the spring balance

PROCUDURE: 1. Using the top pan balance, measure and record the mass of the golf ball.
2. Set up the apparatus as illustrated in the diagram above.
3. Ensuring that the fan is turned off, take the initial reading of the spring
balance with the ball.
4. Turn the fan on at a speed of 5ms-1 and record the reading on the
spring balance.
5. Repeat Step 4, increasing the wind velocity each time by 5ms-1 until a
speed of 30ms-1 is reached.
6. Repeat Steps 1-5.
7. Place all data obtained in Table 1 and using data collected, plot a graph of
drag force against velocity.

VARIABLES: Constant variables:

- Mass of golf ball
- Apparatus used during the experiments
- Position of ball

Manipulating variables:
- Velocity of the air

Responding variables:
- Drag force acting on the ball due to the air

EXPECTED
RESULTS:
Table 1: Results obtained in the experiment investigating whether the flight of a
golf ball is determined more by air resistance then by gravity

Wind Weight/ N Average Drag Force/ N

Velocity/ms-1 st
1 Trial, 2nd Trial, Weight / N, Initial Weight-
F F F+F/2 Average Graph of Drag
Weight force against
0 wind velocity.
5
10
15
20
25
30
TREATMENT OF RESULTS:

Plot a graph of Drag force vs Airspeed and from the graph, read off
range of values for which drag force is greater than weight of ball.
If this range of values falls within average speed of golf ball in air
determined ,then it can be concluded that a golf ball in airs drag
force is greater than its weight and hence its flight is determined
more by drag force than by weight and the hypothesis is true. If this
range of values does not fall within average speed of golf ball in air
determined then it can be concluded that a golf ball in airs drag
force is less than its weight and hence its flight is determined more
by weight than by drag force and the hypothesis is false.

PRECAUTIONS: 1. Zero all scales before use so as to reduce systematic errors and allow for
accuracy.
2. Ensure that wherever this lab is being conducted that there is no wind
interference so that the only force acting on the ball is due to air speed.

SOURCES
OF ERROR: 1.Parralax error when taking reading may result in inaccurate readings.
2. External factors such as wind and vibration interferences may result in
inaccurate readings.