‭Name:‬ ‭Soumil G‬ ‭Date:‬ ‭12/16/2024‬

‭Student Exploration: Free-Fall Laboratory‬

‭ irections: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and‬
D
‭prompts in the orange boxes.‬

‭Vocabulary‬‭:‬‭acceleration, air resistance, free fall,‬‭instantaneous velocity, terminal velocity, velocity, vacuum‬

‭Prior Knowledge Questions‬‭(Do these BEFORE using the‬‭Gizmo.)‬

‭1.‬ ‭Suppose you dropped a feather and a hammer at the same time. Which object would hit the ground first?‬

‭the Hammer‬

‭2.‬ ‭Imagine repeating the experiment in an airless tube, or‬‭vacuum‬‭. Would this change the result? If so, how?‬

‭Yes, since there is no air resistance they woul fall at the same time.‬

‭ izmo Warm-up‬
G
‭The‬‭Free-Fall Laboratory‬‭Gizmo allows you to measure‬‭the motion of an object in‬‭free‬
‭fall‬‭. On the DESCRIPTION tab, check that the‬‭Shuttlecock‬‭is selected, the‬‭Initial height‬
‭is‬‭3 meters‬‭, and the‬‭Atmosphere‬‭is‬‭Air‬‭.‬

‭1.‬ C
‭ lick‬‭Play‬‭(‬ ‭) to release the shuttlecock. How long‬‭does it take to fall‬ ‭T=.90‬
‭to the bottom?‬

‭2. Select the GRAPH tab. The box labeled‬‭h‬‭(m)‬‭should‬‭be checked, displaying a graph‬
‭of height vs. time. What does this graph show?‬

‭The shuttlecock is accelerating downward‬

‭3.‬ T
‭ urn on the‬‭v‬‭(m/s)‬‭box to see a graph of‬‭velocity‬‭vs. time. Velocity‬‭is the speed and‬
‭direction of the object. Velocity is also referred to as‬‭instantaneous velocity‬‭.‬
‭Because the shuttlecock is falling downward, its velocity is negative.‬

‭Does the velocity stay constant as the object drops?‬ ‭no‬

‭4.‬ T
‭ urn on the‬‭a‬‭(m/s/s)‬‭box to see a graph of‬‭acceleration‬‭vs. time. Acceleration is the rate at which the‬
‭velocity changes over time. What does this graph show?‬

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 ‭ hows that the shuttlecock accelerates, then tarts to steady its velocity with a‬
S
‭slight deceleration at the end.‬

‭Activity A:‬ ‭Get the Gizmo ready‬‭:‬

‭‬ C
● ‭ lick‬‭Reset‬‭(‬ ‭).‬
‭Falling objects‬ ‭●‬ ‭Select the DESCRIPTION tab.‬

‭Question: What factors affect how quickly an object falls?‬

‭1.‬ O
‭ bserve‬‭: Drop each item through‬‭Air‬‭from a height‬‭of‬‭3 meters‬‭. Record how long it takes to fall below.‬‭For‬
‭the tennis ball, try to click‬‭Pause‬‭(‬ ‭) when it hits‬‭the ground.‬

‭Shuttlecock‬ ‭Cotton ball‬ ‭Tennis ball‬ ‭Rock‬ ‭Pebble‬

‭0.90‬ ‭1.36‬ ‭0.80‬ ‭0.79‬ ‭0.80‬

‭2.‬ ‭Form a hypothesis‬‭: Why do some objects fall faster than others?‬

‭Some objects fall faster than others because they have a larger weight.‬

‭3.‬ ‭Predict‬‭: A vacuum has no air. How do you think the‬‭results will change if the objects fall through a vacuum?‬

‭The results will change as they will fall at the same velocity.‬

‭4.‬ ‭Experiment‬‭: On the‬‭Atmosphere‬‭menu, select‬‭None‬‭. Drop‬‭each item again, and record the results below.‬

‭Shuttlecock‬ ‭Cotton ball‬ ‭Tennis ball‬ ‭Rock‬ ‭Pebble‬

‭0.78‬ ‭0.78‬ ‭0.78s‬ ‭0.78s‬ ‭0.78s‬

‭5.‬ ‭Analyze‬‭: What happened when objects fell through a‬‭vacuum?‬

‭ hen the objects fell through a vacuum, they all hit the ground at the same time‬
W
‭at0.78s‬

‭6.‬ D
‭ raw conclusions‬‭: Objects falling through air are slowed by the force of‬‭air resistance‬‭. Which objects were‬
‭slowed the most by air resistance? Why do you think this is so?‬

‭ he objects slowed the most by air resistance were the rock (0.79s), the pebble‬
T
‭(0.80s)and the shuttlecock (0.90s). I think this is so because the lightest object will‬
‭arrive at theground last because it has the greatest air resistance and is slowed down‬
‭the most bythe air resistanc‬

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‭7.‬ C
‭ alculate‬‭: Select the‬‭Shuttlecock.‬ ‭Check that the‬‭Initial height‬‭is‬‭3 meters‬‭and the‬‭Atmosphere‬‭is‬
‭None‬‭. Click‬‭Play‬‭and wait for the Shuttlecock to fall.‬‭Select the BAR CHART tab and turn on‬‭Show‬
‭numerical values‬‭.‬

‭A.‬ ‭How long did it take the shuttlecock to fall to the bottom?‬ ‭0.78‬

‭B.‬ ‭What was the acceleration of the shuttlecock during its fall?‬ ‭-8.81m/s‬

‭C.‬ W
‭ hat was the velocity of the shuttlecock when it hit the bottom?‬ ‭-7.7s‬
‭(Note: This is an example of instantaneous velocity.)‬

‭D.‬ ‭What is the mathematical relationship between these three values?‬

‭ he mathematical relationship is : Acceleration v-u/t .Acceleration is calculated‬

T
‭bysubtracting initial velocity from the final velocity and dividing by the time‬

‭8.‬ M
‭ ake a rule‬‭: If the acceleration is constant and the‬‭starting velocity is zero, what is the relationship‬
‭between the acceleration of a falling body (‬‭a‬‭), the‬‭time it takes to fall (‬‭t‭)‬ , and its instantaneous‬‭velocity‬
‭when it hits the ground (‬‭v‬‭)?‬

‭ he relationship between acceleration, velocity and time is the acceleration of a‬

T
‭fallingbody (a), the time it takes to fall (t), and its instantaneous velocity when it hits the‬
‭ground(v)‬

‭Express your answer as an equation relating‬‭v‬‭,‬‭a‬‭,‬‭and‬‭t‭:‬‬ ‭v‬‭=‬ ‭t=at‬

‭9.‬ ‭Test‬‭: Click‬‭Reset‬‭. On the DESCRIPTION tab, set the‬‭Initial height‬‭to‬‭12 meters‬‭. Click‬‭Play‬‭.‬

‭A.‬‭How long did it take for the shuttlecock to fall 12 meters?‬ ‭1.56s‬

‭B.‬‭Assuming the acceleration is still -9.81 m/s‬‭2‬‭, what‬‭is the instantaneous velocity of the‬
‭shuttlecock when it hits the ground? Show your work below.‬

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 ‭v‬‭=‬

‭C.‬‭Select the BAR CHART tab. What is the final velocity of the shuttlecock?‬ ‭-15.35s‬

‭D.‬‭Does this agree with your calculated value?‬ ‭yes‬

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 ‭Get the Gizmo ready‬‭:‬
‭Activity B:‬
‭‬ C
● ‭ lick‬‭Reset‬‭.‬
‭Terminal velocity‬ ‭●‬ ‭Set the‬‭Initial height‬‭to‬‭12 meters‬‭.‬
‭●‬ ‭Set the‬‭Atmosphere‬‭to‬‭Air‬‭.‬

‭Question: How does air resistance affect falling objects?‬

‭1.‬ ‭Observe‬‭: Select the‬‭Shuttlecock‬‭. Choose the BAR CHART‬‭tab, and click‬‭Play‬‭. What do you notice about‬
‭the velocity and acceleration of the shuttlecock?‬

‭I notice the acceleration is almost 0 m/s (-0.01 m/s²) and the velocity rose to -5.81m/s‬

‭ hen objects fall through air for a long time, they will eventually stop accelerating. Their velocity at this‬
W
‭point is called‬‭terminal velocity‬‭.‬

‭2.‬ ‭Form hypothesis‬‭: How will an object’s size and mass‬‭affect its terminal velocity?‬

‭The smaller the object, the higher the mass, the higher the terminal velocity.‬

‭3.‬ ‭Experiment‬‭: Click‬‭Reset‬‭. On the DESCRIPTION tab, select‬‭Manual settings‬‭. Set the‬‭Height‬‭to 100 m and‬
‭the air density (‬‭ρ‬‭) to 1.3 kg/m‬‭3‬‭, close to actual‬‭air density at sea level.‬

‭ or each combination of‬‭mass‬‭and‬‭radius‬‭in the charts‬‭below, find the terminal velocity (‬‭v‬‭terminal‬‭) of‬‭the‬
F
‭object. Use the BAR CHART tab to find the terminal velocity. (Hint: Turn on‬‭Show numerical values‬‭.)‬

‭Mass‬ ‭Radius‬ ‭v‬‭terminal‬ ‭Mass‬ ‭Radius‬ ‭v‬‭terminal‬

‭1.0 g‬ ‭3.0 cm‬ ‭-1.61m/s‬ ‭10.0 g‬ ‭2.0 cm‬ ‭-18.43m/s‬

‭10.0 g‬ ‭3.0 cm‬ ‭-5.4m/s‬ ‭10.0 g‬ ‭5.0 cm‬ ‭-7.34m/s‬

‭50.0 g‬ ‭3.0 cm‬ ‭-12.3m/s‬ ‭10.0 g‬ ‭10.0 cm‬ ‭-3.49m/s‬

‭4.‬ ‭Analyze‬‭: Your data show how mass and radius affect‬‭terminal velocity.‬

‭A. What was the effect of increasing mass?‬ ‭Higher terminal velocity‬

‭B. What was the effect of increasing radius?‬ ‭Lower terminal velocity‬

‭5.‬ ‭Apply‬‭: If you wanted to use a device to slow your‬‭fall, what properties should it have?‬

the device should have a low mass, large and flat surface area and radius.‬

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 ‭Activity C:‬ ‭Get the Gizmo ready‬‭:‬
‭‬ C
● ‭ lick‬‭Reset‬‭.‬
‭ cceleration,‬
A ‭●‬ ‭Select‬‭Common objects‬‭.‬
‭distance, and time‬ ‭●‬ ‭Set the‬‭Atmosphere‬‭to‬‭None‬‭.‬

‭Question: How long does it take an object to fall from a given height?‬

‭1.‬ O
‭ bserve‬‭: Select the‬‭Rock‬‭, and set the‬‭Initial height‬‭to‬‭3 meters‬‭. Choose the GRAPH tab, and click‬‭Play‬
‭to drop the rock through a vacuum. Turn on all three graphs.‬

‭A. What is the shape of the graph of velocity vs. time?‬ ‭ iagonal line‬
D
‭(acceleratingdownwards‬

‭B. What is the shape of the graph of acceleration vs. time?‬ ‭Flat line under the x-axis‬

‭2.‬ ‭Analyze‬‭: Select the TABLE tab and look at the‬‭v‬‭(m/s)‬‭column.‬

‭A.‬ T
‭ he starting velocity was 0 m/s, and the final velocity was -7.68 m/s. Based on this, what was the‬
‭average‬‭velocity of the rock?‬

‭The average velocity is -9.846 m/s.‬

‭B.‬ I‭n general, how do you find the average velocity of any object falling in a vacuum? (Assume you‬
‭know the final velocity.)‬

‭You use the formula of the final velocity / time.‬

‭3.‬ ‭Calculate‬‭: Distance, average velocity, and time are‬‭related by the equation,‬‭d‬‭=‬‭v‭a‬ verage‬ ‭•‬‭t‬

‭A. How much time did it take the rock to fall?‬ ‭0.78 s‬

‭B. What is the product of the average velocity and time?‬ ‭-7.68 m‬

‭C. Does this equal the distance that the rock fell?‬ ‭no‬

‭ alculate‬‭: The acceleration of any object due to Earth’s‬‭gravity is -9.81 m/s‬‭2‭.‬ For every second an object‬
‭4.‬ C
‭falls, its velocity changes by 9.81 meters per second. For several different times on the table, multiply the‬
‭time by the acceleration.‬

‭A.‬ ‭What do you notice?‬

‭It is equal to the velocity.‬

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 ‭B.‬ ‭If you know the acceleration and time, how can you calculate the final velocity?‬

‭Using the formula: V = a * t‬

‭C.‬ ‭Challenge: If you know the acceleration and time, how can you calculate the‬‭average‬‭velocity?‬

‭Using the formula: a * t²‬

‭5.‬ M
‭ ake a rule‬‭: So far you have figured out two rules‬‭that relate time, acceleration, average velocity, and‬
‭distance. Review these rules now.‬

‭A.‬ ‭How do you find average velocity (‬‭v‬‭average‬‭) from acceleration‬‭(‬‭a‬‭) and time (‬‭t‭)‬ ?‬

‭vav = s/t = vi+ ½at‬

‭6.‬ A
‭ pply‬‭: Use your rule to solve the following problems.‬‭Check your answers with the Gizmo. Assume that‬
‭each fall takes place in a vacuum with an acceleration of -9.81 m/s‬‭2‭.‬ ‬

‭A.‬ ‭A rock falls for 1.43 seconds. How far did it fall?‬ ‭11m‬

‭B.‬ ‭How long will it take for a rock to fall 12 meters?‬ ‭1.56s‬

‭C.‬ ‭A rock falls for 4 seconds. How far did it fall?‬ ‭15m‬

‭D.‬ A
‭ rock falls for 3 seconds. What was its velocity when‬ ‭-7.98s‬
‭it hit the ground?‬

‭E.‬ ‭How long will it take for a rock to fall 50 meters?‬

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