Name: Group No.

Group Members Present

Experiment No. 3
UNIFORMLY ACCELERATED MOTION

Objective: To study uniformly accelerated motion of a body rolling down an inclined

Apparatus: inclined plane (approx. 1m long), meter stick, stopwatch, steel ball and
chalk (for markings)

Theory:

The acceleration of an object is the rate at which its velocity changes with time—
the change in velocity maybe in magnitude or in direction or both magnitude and direction.
How can we express the acceleration of an object? Let us consider v1 and v2 as the initial
and final velocities of an object respectively, at time interval t1 = 0 and t2 = t, the constant
acceleration a is given by the equation:

v2  v1
a equation 1
t
v2  v1  at equation 2

The distance s traveled by an object whose acceleration is constant is given by the

v1  v2  t
s  vave t  equation 3
2

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 Substituting equation 2 into equation 3, we get the following
s
v1  v1  at t
2
s
2v1  at  t
2
s  v t  1 at 2 equation 4
v2  v1
From equation 2, t
a
Substituting equation 2 in equation 3,

v  v  v  v 
s   1 2   2 1 
 2  a 

s
 2
v2  v1 2

2a

Therefore, 2as  v 2  v 2 equation 5

These are formulas for motion under constant acceleration.

These formulas will be useful in the computations of data and analysis of

Procedures:
1. Try to roll the steel ball so that it is free to rotate about its axis.

2. Set up the inclined plane using a very small angle of inclination, depending on the
length of the inclined plane and time interval.

3. Place the ball on top of the inclined plane. Release the ball and measure the total time
of descent by the use of a stopwatch.

4. From the observed total time of descent, select a suitable time interval to be used in the
experiment. The total time of descent should be divided into three equal time intervals.
Record the time interval.

5. Place the steel ball at the top of the inclined plane. Start the stopwatch the moment the
ball is released from rest. As the ball descends, mark its position using a chalk at the
end of the chosen time interval. Measure the total distance traversed by the ball for
every time interval.

6. Repeat step 5 for the subsequent time intervals.

Total Time Total Distance Distance Traversed Average Speed per Acceleration
Interval Traversed during 1 interval interval (cm/s) (cm/s2)
(sec) (cm) (cm)
2.18 s 100 cm 10.5 cm 14.38 cm/s 19.70 cm/s2
2.18 s 100 cm 31.0 cm 28.08 cm/s 19.57 cm/s2
2.18 s 100 cm 58.5 cm 37.67 cm/s 13.7 cm/s2

Computation and Analysis:

1. From the tabulated distance measurements, compute the distance traversed by the steel
ball in each successive time interval and record these values. The distance traversed
during one interval is the difference between the distance traversed during the first time
interval and the distance traversed for the next time interval.

1st Interval:
Distance = 10.5 cm
1st Interval = 10.5 cm – 0 cm
1st Interval = 10.5 cm

2nd Interval:
Distance = 41.5 cm
2nd Interval = 41.5 cm – 10.5 cm
2nd Interval = 31.0 cm

3rd Interval:
Distance = 100 cm
3rd Interval = 100 cm – 41.5 cm
3rd Interval = 58.5 cm

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2. Using the distance traversed in each time interval and the recorded interval, compute
the average speed during each time interval.

Interval 1:
Average Speed = 10.5 cm - 0 / 0.73 s
Average Speed = 10.5 cm / 0.73
Average Speed = 14.38 cm/s

Interval 2:
Average Speed = 31.0 cm – 10.5 cm / 0.73 s
Average Speed = 20.5 cm / 0.73 s
Average Speed = 28.08 cm/s

Interval 3:
Average Speed = 58.5 cm – 31.0 cm / 0.73 s
Average Speed = 27.5 cm / 0.73 s
Average Speed = 37.67 cm/s

3. Using equation 4, s  v t  1 at 2 , compute the acceleration using the total distance

recorded and the corresponding total time. Compute the average value of the
acceleration thus obtained.
Interval 1:
Acceleration = 14.38 cm/s – 0 / 0.73 s
Acceleration = 14.38 cm/s / 0.73s
Acceleration = 19.70 cm/s2

Interval 2:
Acceleration = 28.08 cm/s – 14.38 cm/s / 0.73 s
Acceleration = 13. 9 cm/s / 0.73s
Acceleration = 19.57 cm/s2

Interval 3:
Acceleration = 37.67 cm/s – 28.08 cm/s / 0.73 s
Acceleration = 9. 59 cm/s / 0.73 s
Acceleration = 13.7 cm/s2

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 4. Plot a curve to show the relationship between the total distance traveled and the time
elapsed.

Conclusion:
The experiment showed the concept of uniformly accelerated motion using a steel ball that
rolled down on an inclined plane. In this experiment, it can be observed that the velocity of the steel
ball was increasing in a nearly constant rate. With this data, it can be confirmed that the motion of
the steel ball was uniformly accelerated.

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Review Questions:

1. Differentiate speed from velocity.

2. Define average velocity and relative velocity.

3. What is the difference between instantaneous acceleration and uniform acceleration?

4. Describe an experiment other than that which you have performed in the laboratory
which would show how a body with uniformly accelerated motion behaves.

5. How is uniform linear acceleration related to acceleration due to gravity? Give their
similarities and/or differences by citing specific examples.