Physics Problem Help: Understanding Acceleration of Sliding Objects

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In summary: The reason why the acceleration is not -9.8m/s^2 is because the object is not freely falling. In summary, the experiment involved sliding an object across a horizontal pipe and measuring its velocity and acceleration. The acceleration was found to be constant, but not -9.8m/s^2 because the object was not freely falling. The reason for the constant acceleration despite different distances between checkpoints is due to the component of gravity acting on the sliding object.
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FahimP
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Homework Statement



I just did an experiment. where i was sliding an object across a horizontal pipe. One end of the pipe was like 5 inches of the ground and the other side was on ground level. I did a few tests calculating the time it took to pass through two check points. I was calculating velocity and acceleration based on the distance and time.

I thought I was going to get an acceleration of -9.8m/s^2 but I didnt. Over a series of 5 tests i got the same acceleration even though the check points were at different distances. WHY i don't know.. can anyone explain why i got the same acc even though the distances were different and why i did not get an acceleration of -9.8m/s^2

Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution


my anwer was ... the reason why gravity does not act on it is because it is sliding not falling. the object is sliding on the pipe therefore there is a constant acceleration but it is not -9.8m/s^2 because it is not a freely falling object.

the first part of the question I don't know? i don't know why i kept getting the same acceleration for the 6 different trials even though the distances were different
 
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  • #2
Gravity is acting on the object, it is just the object is sliding down the length of the pipe, so the component of gravity along the length of the pipe is what is causing the acceleration.
 

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