Car and Ramp Experiment
Heidi Hellenbrand and Charles JaDoul
Question
Procedure
We needed:
- Ramp(wooden board)
- Car(Hot Wheels)
- Ruler(To measure the height)
- Books(Lifts the ramp up)
- Timer(For Timing!)
We placed the ramp at the heights:
- 10 cm
- 20 cm
- 30 cm
- 40 cm
- 50 cm
For each time, we placed the car at the highest point of the ramp and let go on the timer.
Procedure Part 2
Graph
X axis = Height
Y axis = Average Speed
Conclusion
10 cm: 3.32s
1.26m/3.32s = 37.95
20 cm: 1.77s
1.26m/1.77s = 71.19
30 cm: 1.33s
1.26m/1.33s = 95.73
40 cm: 1.23s
1.26m/1.23s = 102.44
50 cm: 1.04s
1.26m/1.04s = 121.15
The five trials ran smoothly and if the car went off track before it finished going down the ramp, we did the trial over. The car never went straight which could affect the time it took. Just like swimming, if you want to get a faster time you might want to stay in the middle of the lane or to one side so your not taking extra yards to get to the finish. The car was all over so for all we knew, the car could've gone 1.28m instead of 1.26m. I know the velocity would probably be the same but we also tried to line the car up at different angles to make it go straight so it might've gone at different distances.