Day 27: Air Track Trials and Plate for Friction Experiment

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Today we started by taking more trials for the air track experiment to find its repeat-ability and to refine some of the procedures we did on the first set of trials. These include adjusting the track to be parallel with the camera and also adding a sign to indicate which trial we were testing. From these trials we got the data shown below:

Figure 1: Trials Using Stopwatches

We also took videos for all the trials and will compare the calculated g value from both methods. We expect that the method using Pasco Capstone will result in a more accurate value for g. As shown with one of the previous trials, the value of g found from Pasco Capstone was exactly at -9.81 but this may just be a fluke, therefore, it is necessary to do more trials.

The group also worked with Professor Balzarette to help create new surface plates for the friction track. These new plates will hopefully be much more serviceable than what is currently used (the metal track surface itself) and will be easily manufactured. More on this subject will be explored later on. 

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