Ryan Trinter

Title: Velocity/ Acceleration of a Rolling Ball

Date: 3/12/15
Lab Partner: Garrett Ringer
Purpose/ Problem/ Objective: To explore the relationship of velocity and
acceleration for a ball rolling down an incline plane. To calculate the velocity
of the ball rolling along the floor and describe its motion. To describe the
motion of the ball as it rolls down the incline.
Diagram/ Sketch:

Materials: Metal ball baring, crate, masking tape, triangular ruler, stopwatch,
meter stick,
iPad: Coach my video app
Methods:
1. Build a ramp with the triangular rulers and crate. Mark every .5 meters
beyond where the ramp meets the floor with tape. Mark the release
point at the top of the rulers to repeat that same position.

Ryan Trinter
2. Begin the iPad videotaping. Release the ball from the release point with
no initial velocity. (Note that the ball should not cross over the tape
markers).
3. Repeat the process for a total of three videos to play back in the Coach
My Video app.
4. Play back the videos in the app. Begin the stopwatch when the ball
touches the floor. Record the times the ball reaches the half-meter
markers. Repeat this process with all three videos until you have
collected all data, then average the times for each distance.
5. Now play back the videos and record the time it took the ball to go
down the ramp. Record this time once for each of the three videos and
average
Data and

Trial
1
2
3
AVG
1
2
3
AVG
1
2
3
AVG
1
2
3
AVG
1
2
3
AVG
1
2
3
AVG
1
2
3
AVG

Distance [m]
.5
.5
.5
.5
1
1
1
1
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.5
2
2
2
2
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
3
3
3
3
RAMP
RAMP
RAMP
RAMP

Time[s]
.330
.330
.330
.330
.711
.693
.693
.699
1.089
1.155
1.089
1.111
1.452
1.518
1.485
1.483
1.848
1.914
1.848
1.870
2.277
2.310
2.234
2.274
1.122
1.617
1.551
1.430

these times.
Observations:
Mass of Ball:
0.0666 kg

Ryan Trinter

Analysis of Data/Graphs:

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Ryan Trinter
Calculations for this lab involved finding the average velocity of the rolling
ball and its approximate acceleration with the average velocity. To find the
average velocity, use:
V=d/t
The delineated distance was 3 meters, and the time was about 2.274
seconds, calculating to be about 1.32m/s. To find the approximate
acceleration from the top of the ramp to the floor, use:
a=V/t
The Vi and Vf measurements come from the velocity at the top of ramp (Vi=0
m/s) and the average velocity of the ball rolling along the floor (reference
paragraph above). In this situation, t=1.430 which is the average time it
took the ball to travel down the ramp. The acceleration calculates to be
Vi= 0
m/s

approximately .92 m/s2.

a=?=.92
m/s2

t=1.43

Vf= 1.32

0s

The final calculation involved finding the kinetic energy lost to friction during
the balls time while rolling across the floor. To do this use the equations:
KE= (1/2)mV2
Work=KE

Ryan Trinter
Find the velocity for the ball at the 0 to .5 meter segment and the 2.5 to 3
meter segment. The 0 to .5m segment (KEi) has a velocity about 1.52 m/s,
which calculates to an approximate KE of .077. The velocity at the 2.5 to 3m
segment is 1.24 m/s, which computes to a KE of .051. Therefore, the KE
means that the work done by friction was roughly -0.026 units.
L1: As the ball continues to roll along the floor, it slowly loses speed due to
friction. It slows down the farther it rolls.
L2: a best fit line shows the approximate velocity on the graph, and it shows
the balls distance from 0 at any given point on the line.
L3: The ball traveling down the ramp is moving in an accelerating, downward
inclined motion. However, the ball was moving in a straight line on a flat
plate, also decelerating due to friction.
L4: This data feels accurate and correct for a ball rolling along the floor.
L5: There is a constant acceleration along the ramp.
L6: There was a very minor loss in kinetic energy along the 3m distance
measure. The ball lost approximately .026 units of kinetic energy.
S1: My data matched the expected values well. As expected, the ball
decelerated very slowly from the beginning to the end of the track. This is
validated through my calculations for velocity and work.
S2: My results supported the purpose. I found and examined the velocity
and acceleration of the ball at different point in the lab and investigated
relationships between the velocity and acceleration of the ball.

Ryan Trinter
S3: One of the largest sources of error can be found in the frame rate of the
recording iPad. Many numbers were found to be exactly the same because
they showed up in the same frame one the iPad. It is impossible to exactly
when the ball crossed the .5 meter markers.
S5: A deeper investigation into the acceleration of the ball may clear up a
discrepancy there. The value for trial one seems a little bit low.
S5: One subject which could be investigated further is to see how the mass
of the ball affects the calculations found in this lab.
Conclusion:
This lab had conclusive results that thoroughly examined the
relationship between different aspects of motion for a ball rolling down an
inclined plane and onto the floor. After three video tapes of the ball rolling
were reviewed, the time that the ball reached certain distance points were
recorded and used to calculate different measurements for the ball. It was
found that the ball maintained a constant acceleration while it was rolling
down the incline, explaining by the increase in velocity from a resting
position. However, it was also found that the ball maintained a nearly
constant velocity throughout the three meter track on the floor, as shown by
the linear regression in the graph. The work done by friction was so small
that the loss in velocity would not be sufficiently shown in a graph with a
quadratic regression.
Even though these results follow expectations extremely well, minor
complications could be found in various spots in the lab. A source of error

Ryan Trinter
can found in the recording speed of an iPad. Its frame rate allowed the ball
only to cross in certain frames on the video, and often those frames were the
same because of the consistency of the experiment. Therefore, it is
impossible to tell exactly when the ball crossed a certain distance. Also,
there was a slightly low recording for the first trial of the ball rolling down the
ramp. However, these problems are so minute that they do not affect the
lab. The results were still valid and the experiment was successful.