Objective: To calculate the acceleration of your Hot
Wheels car.
Procedure: Have someone positioned at 5 and 10 feet
along the track with stop watches. Send
your car down the track. Do not push
it. Just let go and let gravity do the
work. Everybody will start their
stopwatch as the car is released. As
your car passes each person, they should stop their watch. Record the data in table 1.
Data:
Table
1
Time (in
Seconds) Trial 1
|
Time (in
Seconds) Trial 2
|
Average Time
(in Seconds)
|
Distance
(in feet)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0 feet
|
5 feet
|
|||
10 feet
|
Analysis:
- Calculate
the average velocity over the 10 foot track. (v = d/t ).
- Calculate
the time it took for the car to go each 5 foot interval. Record your results in the table below.
Table 2
Time
|
Distance
|
0-5 feet
|
|
5-10 feet
|
- Calculate
the average velocity for each 5 foot interval using the equation
Table 3
Average Velocity
|
Distance
|
0-5 feet
|
|
5-10 feet
|
- Because
the ramp has a consistent slope, we will assume the acceleration is
constant. Because of this, we can
say that the average velocity occurred at the midway point of the
calculations (the 5 foot point for the 0 to 10 foot average velocity, the 2.5
foot point for the 0 to 5 foot average velocity), so to find the
instantaneous velocity at the 5 and 10 foot point, simply double the
average velocities.
Table 4
Distance
|
Average Velocity
|
Instantaneous
Velocity
|
0-5 feet
|
x 2 =
|
at 5 feet
|
0-10 feet
|
x 2 =
|
at 10 feet
|
- You
now have velocities for 0, 5, and 10 feet.
You also have the time it took the car to get 5 and 10 feet. Calculate the accelerations for 0-5
feet, for 5 to 10 feet, and also from 0 to 10 feet.
Table 5
Distance
|
Acceleration
|
0-5
feet
|
|
5-10
feet
|
|
0-10
feet
|
- How do
the accelerations compare. Would
you expect them to be different or the same?
- Calculate
the 0 – 10 foot acceleration in miles per hour.
- Calculate
the scale accelerations in miles per hour.
(Your Hot Wheels Cars are 1/64 scale)
- Using
the scale acceleration, how long would it take your car to go from 0 to 60
mph?
Conclusion:
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