Investigation of Free Fall - Lab Report Example

Two of Newton’s equations of motion can then be used to relate initial velocity, final velocity, distance covered, time, and acceleration. The equations are This paper seeks to investigate free fall. Its core objective is to determine the accelerating force that acts on a freely dropped object from a height, using an experimental setup to determine the time and corresponding distance covered by a freely falling object. The experimental procedure involved releasing an object at a height and allowing it to freely fall.

The object was clamped at a height and then allowed to fall to the clamp’s base. Measurements were then taken for time and corresponding distance covered along the object’s vertical path. The obtained data was then used to calculate corresponding velocities and the object’s acceleration to the clamp’s base. The corresponding values of distance and time are used to determine the object’s velocity and acceleration at different times. The following excel output summarizes the computed values for velocity and acceleration along the object’s free fall. The calculated acceleration, 10.31 m/s², is slightly above the theoretical value of 9.8 m/s². 

The observed trend in the experiment however indicates a convergence to the theoretical value that could have been achieved if the height was raised further to allow for a more distance. The deviation from theoretical acceleration, that converges to zero can be attributed to external force on the object upon its release.  

The experimental results, therefore, converge to the theoretical value for gravitational acceleration. It however had the challenge of using a shorter height, a limitation that can be easily corrected by raising the clamp’s height.