Physics Lab Report

Experiment 1Part 1 Free Fall

Group 33
Nguyen Quang Nhat
Nguyen Quang Huy
Nguyen Quang Minh
Vu Hoang Minh
20.12.2024

1
1. Abstract
In this experiment, we determined the magnitude of Earth’s gravitational
field g by measuring free fall times for various objects released at different
heights using Newton's 2 nd law. We found that g~9.839 N/kg, which has
very minor deviation and is in good agreement with the commonly
accepted value of 9.8 N/kg.

2. Introduction
In the 17 th century. Isaac Newton stated his famous motion laws which
lay the basis of the interrelationship between force, mass and acceleration.
Following the principle of Newton’s second law, we will drop a metal ball
from various heights to determine the time it takes for the ball to reach the
ground so as to compute the angular acceleration caused by gravitational
force in this experiment .

3. Theory
Newton’s second law states that the acceleration of an object depends on
the mass of the object and the amount of force applied:

The 2nd law can also be applied to gravitational acceleration (in vertical
axis)

Under gravitational force, g is a constant which means that in free fall

motion, height from which the object fall is a polynomial function of the
falling time and linear function of the square of falling time:

h(t)=1/2gt²
h(t²)=1/2gt²

2
4. Necessary Equipment
Free fall apparatus 1

Release unit 1

Impact switch 1

Universal counter 1

Support base 1

Right angle clamp 2

Plate holder 1

Cursor 2

Meter scale 1
5. Preparation and Setting Up
1. First we plug the universal timer, Connect the blue connecting cord
to the “Imp.” and red connecting cord to the ground socket under
“Light barrier 1”. The other receiving ends of the connecting cord
should be plugged into the … under the plate
2. Activating the “Timer” operating mode on the universal counter by
pressing the FUNCTION button.
3. Use the TRIGGER button to select the trigger type to the mode 6
button
4. Adjusting the pan, using the adjusting screw under the arrest switch.
5. The pan is manually raised after each single measurement
(associated with an arbitrary chosen height).
6. For the effective determination of the height of fall using the
marking on the release mechanism, the radius of the sphere must be
taken into account (approx. 19 mm/1.9), adding the radius to the
height
7. Attach the solid sphere to the electromagnet in the release unit
8. The drag of the sphere can be disregarded.
3
6. Experiment Procedure
1. Adjust the height using right angle clamp, between them 5, 10, 15,
20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 60, 70cm
2. Release the sphere by pressing the impact switch, which would
disable the electromagnetic field, allowing the ball to fall to plate
3. Read the measure on the universal counter.
4. When calculating ‘g’, add 1.9cm to the adjusted height to match the
sphere’s centre of gravity at the point the sphere fall from

7. Data Analysis
We have h as a function of time:
1 2 2h
h ( t )= g t ⟺ g= 2
2 t
Measurement results:
No h(m) t (ms) t avg (ms) t
2
avg (s g(m/
2
) s
2

)
1 0.05 114 113 117 115 114 114.6 0.013 10.508
2 0.10 156 154 146 158 159 154.6 0.024 9.958
3 0.15 183 182 187 197 190 187.8 0.035 9.584
4 0.20 212 213 219 217 216 215.4 0.046 9.440
5 0.25 236 233 237 234 236 235.2 0.055 9.725
6 0.30 251 250 253 254 248 251.2 0.063 10.110
7 0.35 277 280 275 275 280 277.4 0.077 9.591
8 0.40 291 291 288 288 287 289 0.084 10.033
9 0.50 327 333 323 326 323 326.4 0.107 9.743
10 0.60 354 351 359 359 364 357.4 0.128 9.692
11 0.70 384 382 383 377 379 381 0.145 9.906
12 0.80 408 415 409 407 407 409.2 0.167 9.782
9.839

Figure 1: Height of fall as a function of falling time

4
 h(m)

2 2
t avg (s )

Figure 2: Height of fall as a function of square of falling time

h(m)

avg

t (s)

Figure 3: Measured values of the gravitational acceleration

5
 8. Discussion

9. Conclusion
Using fall times we were able to measure the magnitude of Earth’s
gravitational field g, resulted in g=9.839 m/s 2
10. Reference