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A glider on an inclined air track is released to show motion at a constant acceleration. Plots of position, velocity, and acceleration vs. time are displayed to show the relationships between them.
* Equipment seen in the video may vary from equipment used in ND Demonstrations. See information and images below for ND equipment and setup.
Setup:
Place the air track on a lab jack to create an incline. Connect the motion sensor to the Pasco interface. Connect the interface to the computer. Connect the demo computer to the projector system. Mount the motion sensor above the air track aligned with the sail on the glider using the ring stand. Open the Pasco data collection software and create graphs of position vs. time, velocity vs. time, and acceleration vs. time.
Turn on the air track. Place the glider at the top of the track and hold it in place.
Press record on the software and release the glider. The graphs populate. Press stop to end data collection.
For a slightly different experiment, start close to the sensor and push the cart up the ramp and let it fall back down.
Notes:
Level the air track horizontally.
Ensure that the motion sensor is in cart mode. (There is a switch on the sensor.)
Use a sail on the glider for more accurate data collection.
Courses Used In:
PHY 10111
PHY 10310
PHY 10410
PHY 10320
Discussion and Polling Questions:
Can an object have zero velocity and nonzero acceleration?
Can velocity always be nonzero if you change direction?
What is the difference between acceleration and deceleration? Does it have anything to do with the positive or negative sign of acceleration by itself?
Equipment Needed:
Air Track Cart
Glider with Sail
Demo Computer or Laptop
Pasco Interface
Motion Sensor
Lab Jack
Ring Stand
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