Energy_Physics_Lab

Energy and the Roller Coaster (B-1) 1. Making a prediction a. Watch the marble roll along the track. At which place do you think the marble moves fastest' Why' I think that the marble moves fastest at position 7 because the marble has been rolling downwards the longest at that point. 2. Measuring the speed of the marble Table 1: Speed of the Marble on the Roller Coaster Position number Time from photogate A (sec) Distance traveled by marble (cm) Speed of marble (cm/sec) 1 0.0108 45 175.9 2 0.0135 25 140.7 3 0.0303 80 62.7 4 0.0158 65 120.3 5 0.0112 50 169.6 6 0.0150 100 126.7 7 0.0098 125 193.9 a. Did your measurements agree with your hypothesis, or did they point to a different hypothesis' Yes, my measurements agreed with my hypothesis. b. What did you notice about the motion of the marble from the measurements' The when the marble goes up the hill it slows down and when the marble goes downhill it speeds up. 3 Energy conservation Table 2:Speed, Height, and Position Position (cm) Height (cm) Time from photogate A (sec) Distance traveled by marble (cm) Speed of marble (cm/sec) 25 23 0.0135 1.9 140.7 30 19 0.0113 1.9 168.1 35 16 0.0113 1.9 168.1 40 14 0.0106 1.9 179.2 45 15 0.0107 1.9 177.6 50 16 0.0109 1.9 174.3 55 19 0.0120 1.9 158.3 60 22 0.0121 1.9 157.0 65 26 0.0156 1.9 121.8 70 28 0.0194 1.9 97.9 75 30 0.0251 1.9 75.7 80 32 0.0287 1.9 66.2 4. Graphing speed and height Height and Speed vs. Position  a. What can you tell from your graph' Describe the relationship between the speed of the marble and the height. b. Where is the speed of the marble the greatest' The speed of the marble is the greatest when it’s at the position 40cm, and it’s height is 14cm c. Does the uphill or downhill direction affect the speed of the marble, or is height the only contributing variable' Rolling downhill will make the marble’s speed increase and rolling uphill will decrease the marble’s speed. d. Based on your work and observations in this investigation, define kinetic and potential energy in your own words. How are these two forms of energy similar, and how are they different' Kinetic energy is an objects energy due to it’s motion. Potential energy is stored energy. Kinetic and potential energy is similar because they both act on the same object and they are different because as one decreases the other increases. e. Describe the flow of energy between potential and kinetic along the roller coaster. Your answer should indicate where the potential energy is greatest and least and where the kinetic energy is greatest and least. Potential energy is the greatest at the top of the hill right before it moves. Potential energy decreases and kinetic energy increases as it rolls down the hill. When it starts to roll up, the kinetic energy then begins to decrease and potential will increase. Kinetic energy is greatest right before it stops at the bottom of the hill. f. How does the graph you made illustrate the law of conservation of energy'