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USING TICKER TIMERS TO MEASURE SPEED

A ticker timer measures speed by leaving marks on tape as it vibrates 50 times per second, with the distance between the marks indicating the object's speed. Constant distances between marks indicate constant speed, increasing distances indicate acceleration, and decreasing distances indicate deceleration. The document provides instructions for setting up the ticker timer, collecting data, and calculating average speed using a specific formula.

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Maria Gioffre'
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22 views3 pages

USING TICKER TIMERS TO MEASURE SPEED

A ticker timer measures speed by leaving marks on tape as it vibrates 50 times per second, with the distance between the marks indicating the object's speed. Constant distances between marks indicate constant speed, increasing distances indicate acceleration, and decreasing distances indicate deceleration. The document provides instructions for setting up the ticker timer, collecting data, and calculating average speed using a specific formula.

Uploaded by

Maria Gioffre'
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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USING TICKER TIMERS TO MEASURE SPEED

A ticker timer can be used to measure speed. The vibrating arm of the ticker timer strikes the
carbon paper and leaves dark marks on the paper tape. If the tape is attached to a moving
object, a series of dots is left on the tape. Because the ticker timer vibrates 50 times per
1
second, the dots are made 50 of a second apart. The further apart the dots are, the faster

the object is moving. The closer together the dots are, the slower the object.

The positions of the dots provide information about the movement of the tape. If the distance
between the dots:

(i) remains constant, then the motion or speed is constant, and no acceleration is occurring.

(ii) increases, then the speed is increasing, or acceleration is occurring.

(iii) decreases, then the speed is decreasing, or deceleration is occurring.

USING A TICKER TIMER


What you need:
 ticker timer
 ticker tape
 carbon paper discs
 power pack
 electrical leads
 scissors and glue (for results)
What you do:
1. Set up the ticker timer, making sure that the carbon paper disc and tape
are arranged so that the carbon paper will mark the tape.
2. Turn on the power.
3. Pull a strip of ticker tape about 50 cm long through the timer, so that at
least twenty dots are obtained.
Diagram
Graph of six-dot distances over time)

1. Mark your tape at every sixth dot, labelling the sections 1, 2, 3, and so on
from where the motion started.
2. Cut your tape at these dots.
3. Now paste these short strips to form a histogram of the motion, as shown
in the diagram.

Results
Paste here
Questions
Look closely at your tape.
1. Describe the motion.

2. A ticker timer typically marks dots at a frequency of 50 Hz (50 dots per


second).
 This means 5 intervals = 0.1 seconds (since there are 5 spaces
between every 6 dots).
Speed = Distance / Time
 Since 5 intervals = 0.1 seconds, you can calculate speed in cm/s
by multiplying the measured distance (in cm) by 10 (since
1/0.1=10)
Formula:
Speed= Distance x 10 (where distance is measured in cm)
Calculate the average speed for each section of the tape.

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