Passage III

A class of physics students performed 3 experiments on the topic of motion using the apparatus shown in Figure 1.

In each trial, the following occurred: First, the students placed a platform with a ramp at a height Δy above a sandbox. Then, they released either a 10 g solid sphere or a 10 g hollow sphere from a height h above the platform. The sphere rolled down the ramp and through a photogate (a device that emitted 2 beams of light, spaced 1.5 cm apart, and calculated the speed, v, of a sphere passing through both beams). Next, the students started a timer when the sphere rolled off the platform, and they stopped the timer when the sphere landed in the sandbox. They recorded this time interval as the sphere’s time of flight, Δt. Last, they measured the horizontal distance traveled by the sphere while it was in flight, Δx.

Experiment 1

In Trials 1−5, the students set Δy to 95 cm and released the solid sphere from various h (measured in cm). They recorded v in centimeters per second (cm/sec), Δt in sec, and Δx in cm (see Table 1).

Experiment 2

In Trials 6−10, the students set Δy to 95 cm and released the hollow sphere from various h (see Table 2).

Experiment 3

In Trials 11−15, the students set Δy to various values and released the solid sphere from h = 25 cm (see Table 3).