A-level practical assessment - 3
Determination of g by a free-fall method.
In this CAP you will use two methods to find the acceleration due to gravity.
The first method uses an electronic timer and a pressure switchconnected to a millisecond timer
| Distance s/$\units{m}$ | Time t/$\times 10^{-3}\:\units{s}$ | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | mean | |
| 0.300 | 275.55 | 274.33 | 272.10 | |
| 0.450 | 327.50 | 326.78 | 327.78 | |
| 0.600 | 373.81 | 372.78 | 373.75 | |
| 0.900 | 451.37 | 451.07 | 451.88 | |
| 1.200 | 511.97 | 512.87 | 512.84 | |
| 1.500 | 570.56 | 569.51 | 569.81 | |
| 1.800 | 611.30 | 612.49 | 612.21 | |
The second method involves dropping a weighted card through a pair of light gates to measure the acceleration directly.
| Attempt number | Acceleration a/$\units{ms^{-2}}$ |
|---|---|
| 1 | 9.489 |
| 2 | 9.748 |
| 3 | 9.787 |
| 4 | 9.814 |
| 5 | 9.783 |