In an experiment similar to Lab 3, a plummet falls under the force of gravity with its position recorded every 0.05 seconds on a spark tape. The location of the plummet (y, in m) from the release point is measured at each spark point. The accuracy of these positions measurements is .005 m. Newton predicts that the location of the plummet will fit a quadratic relationship:

y = y0 + v0 t + 0.5 g t2

where g is the acceleration of gravity and y0 and v0 are the plummet's initial position and velocity.

  1. Fit this data with a quadratic relationship.
  2. Consider Newton's scientific claim of an quadratic law. Does this evidence (data) confirm or contradict this claim? Support your answer quantitatively.
  3. Properly report (sigfigs, error, units) the A, B and C parameters of the best-fit relationship.
  4. Use a spreadsheet to calculate g from C.
  5. Properly report (sigfigs, error, units) the value for g.
  6. Self-document the spreadsheet and turn in a hardcopy of the page.
  7. Make a hardcopy plot of the data with best-fit curve.

X
(s)
Y
(m)
0.055.4 × 10-2
0.100.111
0.150.213
0.200.329
0.250.464
0.300.618
0.350.811
0.401.021
0.451.259
0.501.523