Set up for Ball & Incline Demos

 

Code Number: 1D15.36

Demo Title: Ball & Incline Demos

Condition: Good

Principle: Velocity, Position, Acceleration

Area of Study: Mechanics

Equipment: 

Two Incline Plane Tracks, One Inch Steel Balls, Ball Catchers, Photogates, Computer with Interface.

Procedure:

Mount the tracks so that one track has four times the height of the other.  20 cm and 80 cm seems to work well.  Place the Photogates at the same height at the ends.  Velocity time should be double for the track that has four times the height.

References:

  • Jenna Gales and Blane Baker, "Conservation of Mechanical Energy Using Dry Ice Slider-Projectiles", TPT, Vol. 46, # 6, Sept. 2008, p. 341. 
  • Thomas B. Greenslade, Jr., "Rolling Balls For Projectile Motion", TPT, Vol. 42, # 6, Sept. 2004,  p. 378.
  • Paul Beeken, "Ball on the Edge", TPT, Vol. 42, # 6, Sept. 2004,  p. 366. 
  • David Doucette, "Ball Over the Edge", TPT, Vol. 42, # 9, Dec. 2004, p. 516.
  • Paul Beeken, " Author's Response", TPT, Vol. 42, # 9, Dec. 2004, p. 516.
  • David Groh, "The Difficulty of Interpreting Simple Motion Graphs", TPT, Vol. 38, # 2, Feb. 2000, p. 68.
  • Luis H. Canderle, "Extending the Analysis of One-Dimensional Motion", TPT, Vol. 37, # 8, Nov. 1999, p. 486.
  • Rebecca Taylor, Ellis D. Noll, "Controlling All Variables in an Experiment", TPT, Vol. 36, # 2,  Feb. 1998, p. 115.
  • Alan Cromer, "An Unusual Rolling-Sphere Phenomenon", TPT, Vol. 34, # 1, Jan. 1996, p. 48.
  • Willem H. van den Berg, "Work and Kinetic Energy: A Simple Demonstration", TPT, Vol. 23, # 3, March 1985, p. 167.
  • Qing-gong Song, "The Requirement of a Sphere Rolling Without Slipping Down a Grooved Track for the Coefficient of Static Friction", AJP, Vol. 56, # 12, Dec. 1988, p. 1145.
  • A. Domenech, T. Domenech, J. Cebrian, "Introduction to the Study of Rolling Friction", AJP, Vol. 55, # 3, Mar. 1987, p. 231.

Video and Editing Credit: Jonathan M. Sullivan-Wood.

1D15.36 - Ball and Incline Demos