Projectile Motion Lab

10/13/11
I. PurposeThe purpose of this experiment is to examine the path a metal ball takes when it is launched from the top of a table using a loaded spring apparatus. Using vertical height and horizontal travel distance of the ball, the initial velocity that the ball has as soon as it becomes a projectile (as soon as it leaves the spring) can be calculated using kinematic equations. Using multiple trials, an average velocity can be obtained and used as a more accurate value including a margin of error. Then, this information will be used to predict the distance the ball will travel when fired from a different vertical height. If the numbers do not match from equation to trial then there are systematic errors that need to be examined to correct the difference. II. Description and Theory A. Principles and theories used to get the result A projectile that is only influenced by the force of gravity will follow a parabolic path. In this situation, the spring applies an initial velocity horizontally so that there is an initial, constant horizontal velocity, but no vertical velocity. The only variable in the y direction is the acceleration due to gravity. How far the object travels in the x direction can be determined by how long it takes the projectile to reach the ground in the y direction.

Figure II.A A projectile motion picture that models the horizontal launch that we will be examining in our experiment. The x distance between time intervals stays constant while y is accelerating toward the ground. Another thing we will be looking into is how uncertainty can impact the experiment's results. The uncertainty of the data will be obtained through our methods of measurement. By calculating the impact of uncertainty, we can leave room for error in our result by saying the ball will definitely pass one spot or not pass another.

B.

Derivation of equations used in the report

Definitions:

Assumptions:

Derivations: 

Master Equation: C. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. A step-by-step procedure

The firing apparatus was placed at the edge of the table and its position marked so we would know if it moved due to recoil. Everyone measured from the bottom of the center of the ball to the top of the platform Everyone measured from the top of the platform to the top of the table Everyone measure from the top of the table to the bottom of the table Everyone measured from the bottom of the table to the floor Thao measured the distance from the ground below the edge of the table to the two meter mark A test shot was fired to determine where the paper should be placed and taped to the floor Cameron measured the distance from the two meter mark to the bottom edge of the paper The ball was then shot 30 times measuring the distance on the paper with Steve recording each individual measurement. D. Diagram of Apparatus used

III.

Data

PROJECTILE MOTION LAB

30.2 28.8 32.4 28 27 28.7 27.5 22.8 13.3 22.8

24.3 22.3 22.9 18.7 19 23.9 21.8 19.7 14.8 20.9

Standard Deviation= 0.1 m/sec

Table III A. The above table is all of the data we collected and the results we found using the equations we derived. IV. Graphs

Projectile Distances
35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Projectile Distances

Graph IV. A shows the distance traveled by each trial on the x-axis and the trial number on the y-axis V. Calculations

To show how we calculated the initial velocity, we will use the average values of the variables. We insert the value into the master equation and solve for v0.

Next we calculate what affect the error associated with each quantity in our master equation had on our overall results. For this, we use the following equation: % impact where R = the reported result and R = the adjusted result = 0.1 cm

y1: The error in y1is taken to be

Y2: The error in y2 is taken to be

= 0.02 m

y3: The error in y3 is taken to be

= 0.08 cm 

x1: The error in x1 is taken to be

= 0.18 cm

x2: The error in x2 is taken to be

= 2.53 cm 

x3: The error in x3 is taken to be

= 0.1 cm 

x4: The error in x4 is taken to be

= 4.93 cm 

g: The error in g is taken to be 

= 0.02 cm 

VI.

Conclusion

A. Result The initial velocity of the ball when it leaves the launcher and becomes a projectile is 6.1 0.1 m/sec B. Error Discussion1) Systematic ErrorsThere were two systematic errors in the way the experiment was initially conducted that could have affected the overall results. There were four horizontal measurements per trial in the experiment. The two meter measurement (X was initially only measured once without getting a good number for what the uncertainty of the measurement actually was. This was done a few days after the actual experiment with the help of another group. The two meter point was found to be in a circular area with a diameter of 5.05 cm. This means the measurement could have been off by 2.53 cm in any direction. The actual test results of the two meter mark are contained in the table below. Data Table VI. A: Data all of the data points involved in arriving at the uncertainty of the 2 meter measurement. Who took Measurement Distance Away from the Farthest Measurement Uncertainty in Measurement 5.25 cm 0.03 4.92 cm 0.03 5.00 cm 0.03 5.13 cm 0.03 5.00 cm 0.03 5.00 cm 0.03 The second systematic error was not able to be fixed after the fact. Instead of measuring from the two meter mark to the point where the ball struck the ground, to attempt to ensure shorter and theoretically more accurate measurements, a second measurement between the two meter mark and the start of the two sheets of engineering paper was made. This measurement did not work as intended because not only did this extra measurement introduce more uncertainty into the experiment. It was only measured by one individual. This goes against proper practices in ensuring a good understanding of the uncertainty being introduced. The precise uncertainty will not be able to be derived conclusively. We measured this particular point with a one foot ruler and the initial measurement was found to have an uncertainty of 0.1 cm not including the uncertainty introduced by the errors in the way the measurement was conducted. To be conservative the uncertainty in the two meter measurement was halved and applied to theoretically giving X3 an uncertainty 3 times of what it should have, as it was measured with a one foot ruler with the same preciseness as far as measurability of the units go. The angle in which the measurement might have been off would be considerably smaller, more than 6 times smaller. Therefore dividing the two meter uncertainty by three still enables the measurement to remain conservative. This would put the uncertainty in our X3 value as 0.8 cm. When the ball was fired from the ledge the distance it travelled was 6.4 m .2 m. This was different than the value of 6.1 m .1 m that we had calculated. Afterwards it was learned the value that was given for the height between the ground to the top of the second floor, 13ft. .25in. was wrong. The proper height of 5.41m was determined and put into the equations above. If this systematic error accounted for the difference in experimental value and the value derived from the equations it would show. If the new height was plugged into the equation with the x value determined from the experiment and it matched the initial velocity that was determined from the initial experiments within reasonable uncertainty it would show the wrong measurement accounts for the systematic error. The equation was: 

Since our original value for v0 = 6.149 m/s the value fell into the reasonable range of uncertainty. This was the systematic error that threw off the calculations in the experiment. 2) Random ErrorsThe random errors within the experiment were limited by simple repetition. One in particular was the variation in the spring as it heated up after repeated shots. Because there we so many trials the effect this had on the overall result was negligible. Other than the experimental deficiencies listed above there were limited opportunities for error to occur. Random error had little effect on the experiment that was not accounted for within the uncertainty with each individual measurement.