University:
Borough of Manhattan Community College
Course:
PHY 110 | General Physics
Academic year:

2019
Views:

35

Pages:

2
Author:

unrememberedx6wyi

The Great “Tumble Buggy” Road Race Objectives: - Determine the average speed of a tumble buggy over a 3.0 meter distance. - Collect and analyze position and time data at different intervals to determine if the tumble buggy’s speed is constant. - Construct a position vs. time graph to represent the motion of the tumble buggy. - Find the slope of the best-fit line and compare to the calculated average speed. - Based on class data, predict which tumble buggy will win a “road race”. Materials: - Tumble Buggy - Graph paper - Meter stick -3 stopwatches Procedure: 1. Determine a starting point on the floor. 2. Use the meter stick to create a “race track” 3 meters long. Mark each 1 m interval. 3. Once your “race track” is set up, position a group member at each meter mark. The first person (the starter) will hold the car and the other three (the timers) should have stopwatches. 4. The person at the starting line should turn on the car and release it from behind the starting line. The starter should indicate to the timers when to begin timing. The timers should stop the stopwatch when the tumble buggy reaches the mark at their position. Record the times in the data table. 5. Repeat running and timing of the car for a total of 5 trials. 6. Calculate the average time for the buggy to reach each position and record in the data table. 7. Using the averaged time to move 3.0 m, calculate the average speed of the tumble buggy over the entire 3.0 m distance and record in the data table. Show your work in question number 1 of the analysis. 8. Using Excel, construct a position vs. time graph for the buggy’s motion. Make sure to include axis labels, units, and a title. 9. Draw a best-fit line for your data. 10. Find the slope of the best-fit line and record it in the data table. Copy your graph to your lab (Insert it on last page). Data: Buggy #_8___ Average Speed = _0.397____ m/s Slope of best-fit line = ___2.996________ Trial 1 2 3 4 5 average to (at d = 0 m) 0 0 0 0 0 0 Time (s) t1 (at d = 1 m) t2 (at d = 2 m) 2.55 4.69 2.45 5.05 2.65 4.87 2.46 4.96 2.83 4.83 2.53 4.88 t3 (at d = 3 m) 8.09 6.98 7.65 7.85 7.26 7.57 Analysis: 1. What equation did you use to determine the average speed of your tumble buggy? Show the work for your calculation. 2. Based on the graph of your data, did your car move at a constant speed or did its speed fluctuate? Justify your answer. 3. Compare the average speed you calculated and the slope of the position vs. time graph. Are they similar to each other? What does the slope of the position vs. time graph mean? 4. Make a list of the average speeds for the other tumble buggies in your class. If these cars were to race each other, predict the order in which they would finish the race. 5. After actually racing each other, were your predictions correct? Explain. What factors may have influenced the precision and accuracy of your measurements?