Galileo's Incline plane Help for SAC.

[paul265]

Galileo's Incline plane... Help for SAC.

Hey everyone i am new here so excuse me if i confuse you all.
I am currently undertaking Galileo's incline plane for my yr.12 assessment and i am a little lost with what i am trying to prove...

the data i collected is as follows.
- The volume of the 2 balls used
- The length of the incline
- The angle used
- Weight of the beaker
- Weight of the beaker after each trial run(once water was placed into the beaker during each trial.)

I simply weighed the beaker. Then simultaneously i released the water clock and the ball to fall down the incline. Then i weighed the beaker after the water was collected after each run at full length, 3/4, 1/2 and 1/4.

My problem lies in what I am trying to figure out.
I don't know what i should figure out.. Whether i should find acceleration.(But how would i find that..) Or whether i should prove the formula that distance is inversly proportional to time squared.

Another thing that i have read on the net but don't understand is the theory that explains that: The difference in ratios of distance traveled is the distance in ratios of time squared.? How can i find time with the weight and distance traveled that i have found from conducted my experiment?

I also realize that i forgot 2 measure the mass of the 2 balls. Although one ball had a Volume of (3.4 * 10^-4) and the other was (4.1887* 10^-4) The heights of the incline are as follows.

full - 84cm
3/4 - 63cm
1/2 - 42cm
1/4 - 21cm (The angle of the incline is 57 degrees although.. the results should be the same with any angle so i guess you can presume the angle is 60 degrees.)

Any help is much appreciated and I am sorry 2 give u all a head ache. THANKS.

 

[LowlyPion]

Welcome to PF.

I believe that what you are looking to show is that the ratio of the distances traveled by the balls are proportional to the ratio of the squares of the time and independent of their weight which demonstrates that gravity is constant.

Here's a video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3027460391161538149

 

[paul265]

Thanks 4 the help, hopefully it all clears up.. And yes that is what I was trying 2 understand. Thanks again. :)

 

[paul265]

Hey man thanks 4 the video upload although it is not helping my situation...
I am trying to understand how i can obtained time when i have distance traveled and the weight of the beaker (of the beaker with water in it.) Galileo used a water clock instead of a actual clock to demonstrate that distance traveled is inversely proportional to time squared.. although he also used some musical experiment for time... although the internet always refers to the statement that, the difference of the ratios of weight is equal to the difference of ratios of time... which i don't understand. How can i obtain time with the data i represented above?.

Thanks again...

 

[LowlyPion]

Hey man thanks 4 the video upload although it is not helping my situation...
I am trying to understand how i can obtained time when i have distance traveled and the weight of the beaker (of the beaker with water in it.) Galileo used a water clock instead of a actual clock to demonstrate that distance traveled is inversely proportional to time squared.. although he also used some musical experiment for time... although the internet always refers to the statement that, the difference of the ratios of weight is equal to the difference of ratios of time... which i don't understand. How can i obtain time with the data i represented above?.

Thanks again...

Just weigh the water that comes dripping out. It is presumably at a constant rate. mass/sec * seconds = mass.

So since the mass/sec is constant across all measurements

Mass1/Mass2 = seconds1/seconds2

When you don't have a quartz time piece and a laser beam trigger handy, it looks to be a pretty good quantitative way to "weigh" the effect of time.

 

[paul265]

thanks man... i figured it all out found a good website and my results all make scence and i successfully proved the formula... :)

I am ready to write it all up now although I am having trouble wording a good "AIM" together.
could any1 help me with writing up a aim. It will be much appreciated..

All i have at the moment for the aim is as follows.
(To demonstrate the relationship b/w time and distance traveled by an object accelerating through altering angles and masses. )
Any help would be great!