Mechanics
> Newton's Laws > Newton's Second Law
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DCS# 1G30.35 |
TERMINAL VELOCITY

APPARATUS
balance
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101-05-A |
cylinder of shampoo + water
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202-16-F |
light-weight
base for cylinder
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202-16-F-2
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lead
ball on string
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202-17-E5
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matches
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202-02-C3
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video
camera or laptop
with LabPro interface
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107-02-B3
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DESCRIPTION
If using the video camera: Tare
the balance with the cylinder of
shampoo and steel ball on it. Release the ball into the cylinder
of shampoo to show that the balance reading is negative as the ball
accelerates, zero once the ball reaches its terminal velocity, and
positive when the ball strikes the bottom of the cylinder.
Retrieve the ball with a magnet.
If using LoggerPro, tie a string to the lead ball and clip the other
end of the string to the base so the ball is just submerged. Burn
the string to release the ball and plot the apparent weight vs. time in
LoggerPro.
NOTES
The shampoo mixture
is about 20:1 shampoo:water.
The experiment
file is "terminalv.cmbl". The sampling rate is 10/sec. It
is calibrated for balance E-4.
Remove the pan from the balance, otherwise the cylinder+base will
exceed its weight capacity.
REFERENCE