Ticker Tape Lab

Key Questions: What is the relationship between position and time for a cart rolling down a hill?
What is the relationship between velocity and time for a cart rolling down a hill?

We used a 60 hertz ticker and attached a long strand of paper to a cart. We then turned on the ticker and then let the car go down the ramp. The ticker made dots on the line and basically created a motion map on the piece of paper. Since the ticker tape was 60 hertz, the ratio was 6 dots to .1 seconds. We then marked every 6th dot on the thin piece of paper and measured the tape. We then created the position time graph.

Position Time graph:

Time(sec)	Position(cm)
0.1	1.2
0.2	3.2
0.3	5.9
0.4	6.3
0.5	10.4
0.6	15.2
0.7	20.7
0.8	26.9
0.9	33.8
1	40.2
1.1	48.2
1.2	56.7
1.3	65.7
1.4	75.7
1.5	86.1
1.6	97.4
1.7	108.9

VM: When the time increases, the position increases increasingly
MM: X=(34.639cm/s^2) t^2

Velocity Graph:

VM: As time increases, velocity increases proportionally
MM:
y=mx+b
Vf=at+Vi
a=(cm/s)/s this is the slope
We created our velocity graph by cutting our paper every 6 dots, which is also equivalent to .1 seconds. we then lined up each strand next to each other to see the constant acceleration and how the slope being constant showed constant acceleration.

Two New Equations:
Vf=at+Vi
This equation comes from the equation of y=mx+b in the velocity graph

displacement= 1/2(at)^2
We saw this equation from looking at the slopes and areas of the velocity graph and position graph. ??  I am not sure you know what this means...

The area under the line in the velocity graph is the total displacement of the item. we figured this out because we actually cut out the displacement of our car and pasted it and it created that line.

Did each have the same number for the constants and slopes?
No the slopes were different for each graph because everyone tested the cart at a different angle of the ramp which would change the amount of acceleration the cart would experience. The tickers were also different, which may have also changed results for each group. would different tickers matter?  why?

There may have also been human errors like pushing the cart or not starting the ticker at the right time, which may have produced tainted results.

A good way to change the experiment would maybe be to have everyone test the same ramp so the results would be the same. Or you could add weight to the cart and see how that affects the acceleration. good idea1

I overall liked the lab because we got to see acceleration in a good way and it was easy to understand. it was also fun to the use the tickers and use the carts.