Determine an approximate value for the acceleration of free fall using a tennis ball, metre ruler and a stopwatch.

Drop the ball from a given height that is measured with the ruler and measure the time it takes for it to reach the ground using the stopwatch. Use the appropriate SUVAT equation of motion: we have a height (vertical displacement, acceleration only acts downwards due to gravity) and a time, and would like to calculate acceleration. Hence we need s = ut + 1/2 at2, where "s" is the height from which the ball was dropped, "u" is initial velocity which is 0, "t" is the time of dropping and "a" is the acceleration which we would like to find out. Reorder the equation for "a": a=2*s/t2 and substitute in the known values. Repeat this a few times and take an average due to measurement errors and for better reliability of the experiment.

VN
Answered by Viktoria N. Physics tutor

10801 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

What is the critical angle of a beam of light leaving a transparent material with a refractive index of 2?


A) Draw field lines around a positive point particle. B) How does a faraday cage prevent the people within it recieving a electric shock ?


Which are the types of carrier movements and how are they activated


A spacecraft needs to be slowed down from a speed of 96m/s to 8.2m/s. This can be done by firing an object as the spacecraft is moving. If the mass of the spacecraft is 6730kg and the object is 50kg, calculate the velocity of the ejected object.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning