Name: Date:
Student Exploration: Free-Fall Laboratory
Vocabulary: acceleration, air resistance, free fall, instantaneous velocity, terminal velocity,velocity,
vacuum
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. Suppose you dropped a feather and a hammer at the same time. Which object would hit theground
first? Hammer
2. Imagine repeating the experiment in an airless tube, or vacuum. Would this change the result? If so,
how? Yes, since there is no air resistance in the vacuum, they would fall at the
same time.
Gizmo Warm-up
The Free-Fall Laboratory Gizmo™ allows you to measure the motion of an object
in free fall. On the CONTROLS pane check that the Shuttlecock is selected, the
Initial height is 3 meters, and the Atmosphere is Air.
1. Click Play ( ) to release the shuttlecock. How long does it take to fallto the
bottom? 0.90 s
2. Select the GRAPH tab. The box labeled h (m) should be checked,
displaying a graph of height vs. time. What does this graph show?
Shows that the shuttlecock is accelerating downwards.
3. Turn on the v (m/s) box to see a graph of velocity vs. time. Velocity isthe
speed and direction of the object. Velocity is also referred to as
instantaneous velocity. Because the shuttlecock is falling downward,its
velocity is negative.
Does the velocity stay constant as the object drops? No
This study source was downloaded by 100000820363976 from CourseHero.com on 12-30-2021 01:08:48 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/31078467/Free-Fall-Gizmodocx/
, 4. Turn on the a (m/s/s) box to see a graph of acceleration vs. time. Acceleration is the rate atwhich the
velocity changes over time. What does this graph show?
Shows that the shuttlecock accelerates, then starts to steady its velocity with a slight deceleration at the
end.
Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready:
Click Reset ( ).
Falling objects Select the CONTROLS tab.
Question: What factors affect how quickly an object falls?
1. Observe: Drop each item through Air from a height of 3 meters. Record how long it takes tofall
below. For the tennis ball, try to click Pause ( ) when it hits the ground.
Shuttlecock Cotton ball Tennis ball Rock Pebble
0.90 s 1.36 s 0.80 s 0.79 s 0.80 s
2. Form a hypothesis: Why do some objects fall faster than others? Some objects fall faster that
others because they have a larger weight.
3. Predict: A vacuum has no air. How do you think the results will change if the objects fallthrough
a vacuum?
They will fall at the same velocity.
4. Experiment: On the Atmosphere menu, select None. Drop each item again, and record theresults
below.
Shuttlecock Cotton ball Tennis ball Rock Pebble
0.78 s 0.78 s 0.78 s 0.78 s 0.78 s
5. Analyze: What happened when objects fell through a vacuum?
They hit the ground at the same time of 0.78 s.
6. Draw conclusions: Objects falling through air are slowed by the force of air resistance.Which
objects were slowed the most by air resistance? Why do you think this is so?
This study source was downloaded by 100000820363976 from CourseHero.com on 12-30-2021 01:08:48 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/31078467/Free-Fall-Gizmodocx/
Student Exploration: Free-Fall Laboratory
Vocabulary: acceleration, air resistance, free fall, instantaneous velocity, terminal velocity,velocity,
vacuum
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. Suppose you dropped a feather and a hammer at the same time. Which object would hit theground
first? Hammer
2. Imagine repeating the experiment in an airless tube, or vacuum. Would this change the result? If so,
how? Yes, since there is no air resistance in the vacuum, they would fall at the
same time.
Gizmo Warm-up
The Free-Fall Laboratory Gizmo™ allows you to measure the motion of an object
in free fall. On the CONTROLS pane check that the Shuttlecock is selected, the
Initial height is 3 meters, and the Atmosphere is Air.
1. Click Play ( ) to release the shuttlecock. How long does it take to fallto the
bottom? 0.90 s
2. Select the GRAPH tab. The box labeled h (m) should be checked,
displaying a graph of height vs. time. What does this graph show?
Shows that the shuttlecock is accelerating downwards.
3. Turn on the v (m/s) box to see a graph of velocity vs. time. Velocity isthe
speed and direction of the object. Velocity is also referred to as
instantaneous velocity. Because the shuttlecock is falling downward,its
velocity is negative.
Does the velocity stay constant as the object drops? No
This study source was downloaded by 100000820363976 from CourseHero.com on 12-30-2021 01:08:48 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/31078467/Free-Fall-Gizmodocx/
, 4. Turn on the a (m/s/s) box to see a graph of acceleration vs. time. Acceleration is the rate atwhich the
velocity changes over time. What does this graph show?
Shows that the shuttlecock accelerates, then starts to steady its velocity with a slight deceleration at the
end.
Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready:
Click Reset ( ).
Falling objects Select the CONTROLS tab.
Question: What factors affect how quickly an object falls?
1. Observe: Drop each item through Air from a height of 3 meters. Record how long it takes tofall
below. For the tennis ball, try to click Pause ( ) when it hits the ground.
Shuttlecock Cotton ball Tennis ball Rock Pebble
0.90 s 1.36 s 0.80 s 0.79 s 0.80 s
2. Form a hypothesis: Why do some objects fall faster than others? Some objects fall faster that
others because they have a larger weight.
3. Predict: A vacuum has no air. How do you think the results will change if the objects fallthrough
a vacuum?
They will fall at the same velocity.
4. Experiment: On the Atmosphere menu, select None. Drop each item again, and record theresults
below.
Shuttlecock Cotton ball Tennis ball Rock Pebble
0.78 s 0.78 s 0.78 s 0.78 s 0.78 s
5. Analyze: What happened when objects fell through a vacuum?
They hit the ground at the same time of 0.78 s.
6. Draw conclusions: Objects falling through air are slowed by the force of air resistance.Which
objects were slowed the most by air resistance? Why do you think this is so?
This study source was downloaded by 100000820363976 from CourseHero.com on 12-30-2021 01:08:48 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/31078467/Free-Fall-Gizmodocx/
