Ramps, Energy, Conservation, and Uncertainty

For the second lab, you’ll need to download and install LoggerPro 3. You will have access to that program, and instructions, tomorrow or Wednesday. In the meantime, try to imagine how the lab will go (I recently did a test run, and it works as advertised – shoot a video, record the position and speed, then from there it’s about calculations and the lab report).

For the second lab:

Take screenshots (data, axis, etc.) of each run down the ramp, so three per group. Also have each person do one run. This is so that if the error is too large, the group (and if needed, I) can go back to see if it’s because of incorrect placement.
Be sure to heed to the advice given on the first lab, so that you do not lose points unnecessarily.
Feel free to make your own track! And to use objects beside the car given in the lab kit. Just make sure that the track is straight. Quietly, some energy will be rotational kinetic (in the car’s wheels), so it’s better to have an object slide down (the car’s wheels are small, so it should be fine). If you choose to modify the experiment, just make sure to keep the friction (and rotational kinematic energy) low.
Please continue to send emails if you find errors in the instructions, or if you believe that information is missing. It helps out!
When shooting a video, include a meter stick or ruler in the video, perpendicular to the motion of the car. Make sure that your car is perpendicular too. Don’t use the slow-mo video feature either (LoggerPro 3 goes frame by frame so you are good). This is because you will later use that to calibrate (you can use a piece of paper that was cut to an exact size if you like – it doesn’t have to be a ruler).

For the second lab, I forgot to link to how to figure out the uncertainty of a product. The two attachments talk about how to calculate uncertainty if you need to add, subtract, multiply, etc. – how the uncertainty propagates. The power rule was given in the “Lab 2 Instructions” pdf, so combine that with the product rule, to find the experiment’s estimated uncertainty. If you are curious, the document that the images were taken from is here.

For estimating the uncertainty of “g”, the gravitational constant, you decide. 1% or 0% are both welcome (“g” is very accurate, however how close are we to sea level, where it was measured?). Actually, if you calculate/measure your own gravitational constant, your group will earn 3% (for the lab). Please put a ruler or meter stick in the image/video, and drop a ball (it may be the case that LoggerPro 3 may atomically calculates acceleration – if not, you have all the information you need). You should get something close to 9.8 meters per second squared (there’s probably a website that gives local gravitational values, so be alarmed if you are too far away from what’s expected/accepted).

Hello,

Here are links to download the software you requested from Vernier Software & Technology. After the file has downloaded to your computer, double-click the file to install the software.

Logger Pro 3.16.1 Downloads

Windows 7 or 10
Link: https://www.vernier.com/d/ykihm

macOS 10.15, 10.14, 10.13
Link: https://www.vernier.com/d/whhu3

Detailed Instructions
For more details on how to download and install Logger Pro, see:
https://www.vernier.com/til/2069/

For Older Computers

For Windows and Mac computers that are no longer receiving updates, you will need an older version of Logger Pro. If your version is not listed below, please contact us at support@vernier.com.

Windows 8.1
Link: https://www.vernier.com/d/otayn

Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows XP
This installer is no longer available due to driver licensing requirements.

Mac OS X 10.12, 10.11, 10.10
Link: https://www.vernier.com/d/bstnw

Mac OS X 10.9
Link: https://www.vernier.com/d/oewti
Password: experiment

Mac OS X 10.8
Link: https://www.vernier.com/d/pdwat
Password: exploration

Mac OS X 10.7
Link: https://www.vernier.com/d/dpen3
Password: experiment