Linear Motion Lab
2. LINEAR MOTION
In this experiment you will study the motion of an object in one dimension from a number of points of view. You will demonstrate how the variables of motion are related by differentiation and integration and investigate the relationship between potential and kinetic energy.
Theory
Why Study Motion?
Motion is everywhere in the universe. Only at a temperature of absolute zero is the motion in any body truly absent. If motion exists then so also does energy. To the delight of the modern-day physicist the tools that were invented by Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton and others 200 years ago to describe motion apply everywhere in the universe, from electrons in our own bodies to the farthest galaxy. The study of motion and of energy is at the heart of physics. This experiment deals with motion of the simplest kind, motion in one dimension or motion in a straight line.
Kinematics and Dynamics
The subject of motion is divided for convenience into the subtopics of kinematics and dynamics. Kinematics is concerned with the aspects of motion that exclude the forces that cause motion. In a manner of speaking, kinematics is focussed on the development of definitions: position, displacement, velocity, acceleration and on the relationships that exist between them. Dynamics widens the study of motion to include the concepts of force and energy.
Definitions
Position Kinematics begins with the idea of position. Suppose that we photograph an object moving to the left along a horizontal path at two instants of time and superimpose the images for study (Figure 1). We examine one image with a ruler and mark off the number of units that separate the object from the ruler’s zero. The zero is a reference or origin at a position of zero units by definition. The position of the object at any another place is, say x units. x is an instantaneous quantity since it applies to a specific clock time—the instant the photograph was taken. Position like length is a basic
In this experiment you will study the motion of an object in one dimension from a number of points of view. You will demonstrate how the variables of motion are related by differentiation and integration and investigate the relationship between potential and kinetic energy.
Theory
Why Study Motion?
Motion is everywhere in the universe. Only at a temperature of absolute zero is the motion in any body truly absent. If motion exists then so also does energy. To the delight of the modern-day physicist the tools that were invented by Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton and others 200 years ago to describe motion apply everywhere in the universe, from electrons in our own bodies to the farthest galaxy. The study of motion and of energy is at the heart of physics. This experiment deals with motion of the simplest kind, motion in one dimension or motion in a straight line.
Kinematics and Dynamics
The subject of motion is divided for convenience into the subtopics of kinematics and dynamics. Kinematics is concerned with the aspects of motion that exclude the forces that cause motion. In a manner of speaking, kinematics is focussed on the development of definitions: position, displacement, velocity, acceleration and on the relationships that exist between them. Dynamics widens the study of motion to include the concepts of force and energy.
Definitions
Position Kinematics begins with the idea of position. Suppose that we photograph an object moving to the left along a horizontal path at two instants of time and superimpose the images for study (Figure 1). We examine one image with a ruler and mark off the number of units that separate the object from the ruler’s zero. The zero is a reference or origin at a position of zero units by definition. The position of the object at any another place is, say x units. x is an instantaneous quantity since it applies to a specific clock time—the instant the photograph was taken. Position like length is a basic