Friction on the ramp Essay Example for Free

Friction on the ramp Essay As you can see from the graph, as h1 is increasing, the horizontal distance also increases. The graph is more or less a straight line because the horizontal distance travelled by the ball baring in each interval should more or less be around the same. However it didnt show that the y-component is directly proportional to the x-component. This could be of the inaccuracy of the equipment, measurement and air resistance when in travelling in the air and friction on the ramp. The accuracy of the meter ruler is quite poor when it comes to measuring the point at which the ball has landed. Therefore the uncertainties would be measuring precisely the point at which the ball baring had landed. It will be more or less i 1mm. The position for releasing the ball baring is another issue. If the ball is being released from a higher or lower position compared to the previous test, it will have an affect on the initial velocity when leaving the ramp. Higher velocity will result in a bigger horizontal component and therefore uncertainties would be more or less i 1mm. The total uncertainty would be i 2mm. The plastic ramp also creates a problem. The end of the ramp is difficult to maintain a precise horizontal position because of the bendiness of the plastic ramp. This is an important factor because it has an affect on the initial velocity and therefore will change the results. It will create a vertical acceleration if it bends resulting in an increase in the horizontal component. In theory, we have assumed that the air through which the projectile moves has no effect on its motion, a reasonable assumption at low speeds. However, for a greater speed, the disagreement between calculations and the actual motion of the projectile can be large because the air opposes the motion of the projectile. So, a bigger h1 means the projectile will be in the air for longer; therefore the air resistance will affect the projectile more and consequently will reduce horizontal distance travelled. I believe this is the reason that the line on the graph isnt directly proportional to the x and y components. Therefore in the absence of air resistance, I believe that the graph produced would be directly proportional to both x and y components. In order to calculate the theoretical range, we have to find the horizontal and vertical component separately. I can use the following equations to find out both of the horizontal and vertical components.