Aim: To use a ticker timer and record the results of a person walking at a constant speed without swinging their arm, as opposed to a person walking with their arm swinging. To record and compare the results attained from the two experiments and use them to construct a speed – time graph for each motion Introduction/Background Information:
The ticker timer was first invented by Edwards A Calahan in 1867 as a way to transmit stock price information. Since then it has been used in physics to study the motion of an object by calculating its speed, velocity, acceleration, deceleration and solve linear motion problems by using equations of motion. A ticker timer has a vibrating steel strip that makes 50 dots per second on the tape being pulled through. The time interval between 2 consecutive dots is 1/50 or 0.02s. To calculate the total time; it is the sum of all ticks.
Besides time taken, a ticker timer can also be used to determine, velocity, acceleration, types of motion and distance. Velocity can be determined by dividing the displacement between two dots by the time taken. Velocity and speed are quite similar and are often confused, but velocity is a speed with direction. Speed can be determined by dividing the distance by the time taken. To determine acceleration the initial velocity (u) is taken from final velocity (V) and then divided by the time taken. The type of motion is determined by the distance between the dots, if the dots are further apart it means that the movement is faster than those closer together. If the dots start off close together and then slowly become further apart it means that the motion is accelerating. Apparatus/Equipment: Materials- * 2x 2 meter long strips of ticker tape Equipment- * 1x power supply * 1x ticker timer * 2x connecting cords Method: 1. Set up the ticker-timer and hold the tape which is to be threaded through it. Ensure that you have enough tape to record the walk across the room. 2. Walk across the room at a constant speed while recording. 3. Do another walk across the room but while walking you are to deliberately swing your arm forward and back. Results and Calculations: Time | Walking Distance (cm) | Walking speed (cm s-1) | 0.1 | 4.5 | 4.5/.1=45 | 0.2 | 5 | 5/.1=50 | 0.3 | 5.2 | 5.2/.1=52 | 0.4 | 5 | 5/.1=50 | 0.5 | 4.8 | 4.8/.1=48 | 0.6 | 6.5 | 6.5/.1=65 | 0.7 | 4.9 | 4.9/.1=49 | 0.8 | 6.5 | 6.5/.1=65 | 0.9 | 6.3 | 6.3/.1=63 | 1.0 | 6 | 6/.1=60 | 1.1 | 6.1 | 6.1/.1=61 | 1.2 | 6.5 | 6.5/.1=65 | 1.3 | 6.3 | 6.3/.1=63 | Total Average speed: | 73.6/1.3= 56.62cms-1 | Content walk:
Discussion: 1. Explain what the shape of each graph means. It is a display of the type of motion created whilst walking. It is a speed time graph, meaning it shows how fast you were walking throughout the duration of the experiment, and can therefore tell us were you
