Finding the Formula: Investigating Rise and Run

[Padford]

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I am in the process of planning my Coursework, I’m investigating rise and run; the time taken for a trolley to slide down a slope with varying distances from the end and with various inclinations, and I’ve hit a wall, a problem...

I'm looking for a formula that takes into account all of my variables:
Distance,
The inclination i.e. the angle,
Time,
Speed,
I have been given the mass of the trolley too, but it's not really a variable. When plotting the graph of the data, I’d like to have a constant that can be got from the gradient or the y- intercept, most likely the gradient thought.

 

[Integral]

Perhaps the reason you are not getting any responses, is because it if very difficult to understand what you are doing and what your question is. If you refomulate with a good description of your experiment and a specific question you will get better help.

I am moving this to the homework help fourm.

 

[Padford]

You’re right, hope this explanation is better…
My experiment is simple in essence:
Its title is, “times for a trolley to roll down slopes of differing lengths and inclinations.” So basically I have a slope and I let a trolley slide down it from differing lengths and inclinations timing how long it takes to get to the bottom of the slope – I have done this with 6 different lengths and of 3 different inclinations, all quite small scale, e.g. having the rise at 0.154m and the run at 1.46m.

I have got my results, the experiments outline, the method etc, but alas, as yet I have no aim! Could you help me come up with an aim? I have thought about looking at the speed of the trolley sliding down the slope, but the maths is too simple; I have thought about acceleration, possibly analysing the initial velocity and final velocity, but I think they are all mathematically unchallenging. Does anyone know of a formula linking all my variables together? Or could point me in the right directon?

Thanks in advance