Lab #1: The Sphere Rolling Down the Ramp Into the Plastic Truncated Cone

Lab #1: The Sphere Rolling Down the Ramp Into the Plastic Truncated Cone

Problem:

How does the mass of a sphere affect how far it can move a cup?

Hypothesis:

I hypothesize that if _________________________________________________________________________________

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then, __________________________________________________________________________________________________

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because _______________________________________________________________________________________________

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Materials:

• ramp placemat
• plastic cup with “door” cut out and 5.0g mass on top
• grooved ruler
• A variety of spheres (golf, ping pong, marble, high bounce)
• wooden block
• masking tape
• triple beam balance

Procedure: (Written in numbered steps)

1. Set up ruler so that the “0.0cm” end of it lines up with the line on the placemat that says “End of Ramp/Ruler.”  Use tape to keep it in place.
2. Place the block at the opposite end of the ruler.  Line the edge of the block with the “30.0cm” mark and secure it with tape.  
3. Place the plastic container with the 5g mass on top in the starting circle so that the door is open to the end of the ramp.  
4. Release the golf ball from the 20.0cm mark on the ruler.
5. Record how far the cup is moved in the “20.0cm release point” data table.  
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 three times with each ball recording the data each time.  
7. Find the average of the three trials and record it in the corresponding data table.  

Variables:

Independent
Dependent
Constants

Data: Units of mass = grams (g)

Mass of the cup: ____________________

Mass of the golf ball : ___________________

Mass of the ping pong ball: __________________

Results

Data Table 1: Distance the ball pushes the plastic cup when dropped from 20.0cm

BALL	Trial 1	Trial 2	Trial 3	Average
Golf
Ping Pong

Data Table 2: Distance the ball pushes the plastic cup when dropped from 30.0cm

BALL	Trial 1	Trial 2	Trial 3	Average
Golf

Data Table 3: Distance the ball pushes the plastic cup when dropped from 10.0cm

BALL	Trial 1	Trial 2	Trial 3	Average
Golf
Ping pong

Data Table showing the distance a golf ball moves a plastic cup at three different starting heights

Golf Ball starting heights	Distance the cup moves 1	Distance the cup moves 2	Distance the cup moves 3	Average
10 cm
20 cm
30 cm

Analysis:

1. Which ball made the cup travel the farthest at 20.0cm release point?  What property about the ball causes the difference?

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2. Which ball made the cup travel the least at 20.0cm release point?  Why do you think it performed this way?

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3. Did those balls perform in a similar manner at the 10.0cm and 30.0cm release points? Why or why not?

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4. Predict what you think would happen if we performed the same experiment with a tennis ball, and explain why you would predict this.

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5. Construct a bar graph showing your results.  Use the following information to assist you with the graph: x-axis - various spheres, y-axis - distance the cup moved (cm), title - bar graph comparing how two different masses affect the distance a cup moves after they have collided.

Conclusion

What was your problem?

Restate your hypothesis.  Was it right? wrong?   How did your data support or not support your hypothesis? YOU MUST REFER TO YOUR DATA (AVERAGE DISTANCES) TO GET CREDIT FOR THIS QUESTION. Briefly describe your procedure.

What did you learn in this lab?

What did you like about this lab?

What were some challenges you had to deal with? What might be some sources of error in this lab?

What could you do next with this problem?  What other tests could you perform?

Write down any other additional thoughts, observations, inferences, etc.