Jump to content
  • entries
    30
  • comments
    24
  • views
    3,819

Shoot Your Grade Lab

prettybird

Entry posted by prettybird

2,182 views

 Share

Our class was given the task to collaborate on a lab to find the distance a ball would go when fired and place a target where we believed it would land. The class was allowed to fire the ball once, then the ball would be moved and the angle would change. Together, we took measurements of the first setup, and started doing calculations. We worked in small groups and compared answers, coming to a conclusion that the initial velocity of the ball was around 4.65 m/s. This allowed us to start to calculate the distance the ball would travel at the new height and angle.

However, the class was running out of time and out of desperation, the book was placed at a randomly predicted location and the ball was fired. It missed the target slightly. We were told to redo the calculations and find out what went wrong. The problem was that the target was placed without finishing the calculations, and therefore there was little chance for us to be right.

The initial velocity was 4.65 m/s, and the ball was being fired at -4 degrees, meaning that the ball started with a horizontal velocity of 4.64 m/s and a vertical velocity of .32 m/s. The accelerations for the two directions were 0 m/s2 (horizontal) and 9.8 m/s2 (vertical). The vertical displacement would be 1.035 m once the ball was fired.

The equation y = vot + (1/2)at2 allowed me to determine the time the ball would take when traveling to the target. I used the quadratic formula, which gave me .43 s and -.496 s. The negative time was discarded as time cannot be negative. I then used the same equation (x = vot + (1/2)at2) to find the distance the ball would travel, which was 1.995 m.

 Share

1 Comment

Recommended Comments

Guest
Add a comment...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×

Terms of Use

The pages of APlusPhysics.com, Physics in Action podcasts, and other online media at this site are made available as a service to physics students, instructors, and others. Their use is encouraged and is free of charge. Teachers who wish to use materials either in a classroom demonstration format or as part of an interactive activity/lesson are granted permission (and encouraged) to do so. Linking to information on this site is allowed and encouraged, but content from APlusPhysics may not be made available elsewhere on the Internet without the author's written permission.

Copyright Notice

APlusPhysics.com, Silly Beagle Productions and Physics In Action materials are copyright protected and the author restricts their use to online usage through a live internet connection. Any downloading of files to other storage devices (hard drives, web servers, school servers, CDs, etc.) with the exception of Physics In Action podcast episodes is prohibited. The use of images, text and animations in other projects (including non-profit endeavors) is also prohibited. Requests for permission to use such material on other projects may be submitted in writing to info@aplusphysics.com. Licensing of the content of APlusPhysics.com for other uses may be considered in the future.

APlusPhysics Books

APlusPhysics Books

×
×
  • Create New...