What is acceleration due to gravity?

[Scarlet_pat]

i was asked to find the acceleration due to gravity of specific experiment.
i want to know what exactly are they referring to

 

[Scarlet_pat]

by using PE = mgh ; PE=KE ; KE = 1/2 mv^2
solve for V ??

 

[gneill]

Presumably they want you to find the acceleration that some object is experiencing due to the force of gravity acting on the system.

 

[Scarlet_pat]

in this case ... linear equation will be use to solve such question ?

 

[gneill]

in this case ... linear equation will be use to solve such question ?

That would depend upon the system. Without knowing what the actual problem is, it's not possible to say for sure.

 

[Scarlet_pat]

as the eletromagnet is turned off, the electric timer starts and the ball drops. when the ball hits the metal plate the timer stops. the ball falls through a distance of 65 cm before hitting the metal plate.

time to fall= 0.361s, 0.383s, 0.374s, 0.365s

Find the value for the acceleration due to gravity from this experiment.

 

[gneill]

Okay, so in this case it would appear that you are trying to determine the acceleration due to gravity by determining the free-fall time of an object. You're performing multiple trials, so there will some averaging and error analysis going on. But essentially, you're hoping to determine a value for g.

Do you know an equation that relates the distance an object travels to the acceleration and time?

 

[Scarlet_pat]

of course, equation such as
x = (u +v )/2 * t
x = ut +1/2at^2
x = vt - 1/2at^2

 

[gneill]

Okay, so pick an equation that you think is applicable for a ball falling 65cm from rest.