Constant Acceleration vs. Constant Velocity

1. The purpose of this lab was to develop a clear distinction between velocity and acceleration. It also demonstrated exactly what constant velocity was and how when it is at a constant the intervals are the same distant apart. And then after we tested velocity it showed the difference when at an incline the spaces get further apart.

2. Going a constant speed means that the object doesnt slow down or get faster but rather remain the same. Constant velocity means the object must remain at a constant speed and also stay in a constant direction or straight line. Therefore in order to be going a constant velocity the object has to be going in a straight line at a constant speed. Constant acceleration means an object is getting faster at a constant rate. An object cannot have a constant acceleration and constant velocity because in order for an object to have a constant velocity it's speed cant change, and for acceleration the object's speed has to be changing at a constant rate.

3. In this lab the materials were a ball, chalk, the table and a ticker that would tick at every 1/2 second. When the ball was rolled down the table you would make a mark at where the ball was when the 1/2 second ticker ticked. When there was no incline it was the same  distance between the chalk marks. You then needed to test acceleration so the table was put at an incline, and the same process it was done. It was found that the chalk marks had a greater distance each 1/2 a second.

4. I found out that even though you cannot have an object that is at both constant acceleration and constant velocity, the distance between every 1/2 mark has a pattern. For the constant velocity the pattern was that the distance between the marks was the same, and for constant acceration the marks got bigger at a consistant rate. For the graph, the constant velocity was a straight line while constant accleration was a curve.

5. Constant Acceleration: How fast: v=d/t    How far: d=vt
Constant Velocity: How fast: v=at      How far: d= .5(a)(t)(t)   *the t is suppose to be squared

6. For constant acceleration the graph was beginning to curve and would curve even more the more the ball sped up. As for constant velocity, the graph was a straight line.

7. After we created the graph there was a problem on the lab that you would use the equation v=d/t, when you plugged in the data and solved for v the answer almost perfectly matched with the slope. This close to perfection match up meant the data we collected was almost exact.

8. a) That being familiar with the formulas and how they apply to problems helps.
b) That its ok to redue an experiment, it doesnt matter how long it takes but rather how clear the results are.
c) That just like in homework and quizzes, doing every step when solving an equation is crucial.