Physics Students of IHS calculate gravity!
On Tuesday, October 18th, 2010, four physics students of IHS, with the use of the materials given to them, were able to calculate the acceleration due to gravity. By using a stopwatch, the students timed how long each of them remained in the air before landing on the ground. LH had an average time of .58 second, KH had an average time of .55 seconds, BY had an average time of .75 seconds, and KB
had an average time of .53 seconds.
"Because I'm the only non-athlete in the group, everyone had better results than me," claimed KB. "Here we have LH playing soccer, KH playing field hockey, and BY the football star who headbutted the football into the field goal October 2nd during the game against Fairport. It's all about leg strength; which I don't have as much of as everyone else in my group."
After the experiment, the students added the average times together, and divided them up to get .56 seconds for t when determining Vi, Vf, d, a, and t. Then, the students used the 176 cm given to them from the height experiment to help them calculate Vf, which turned out to be 3.09 m/s. Finally, they calculated a by taking Vf^2 and Vi^2 and dividing them by 2d, which resulted in 8.48 m/s^2, which is close to the gravitational 9.81m/s^2 acceleration.
And so, for the first time in IHS history, these four students were able to calculate gravity without the use of high-tech equipment, which would've given them a more accurate calculation. These students have so much to feel proud of, and are set to have a successful rest of the year in physics.