Ib Physics Ia - Domino Effect
Chee Yong Hui 6.5
Domino Effect IA
Investigate the effect of the distance between each domino on the time taken for all the dominoes to fall
Independent Variable: Distance, d/cm, between each domino. The distance d/cm is measured between the middle of one domino to the middle of the next domino
Dependent Variable: Time taken for all the dominoes to be toppled to the ground. The timing will start when the 1st domino is hit by a metal ball and it will stop when the last domino falls completely.
Controlled Variables:
1. Force used to push the first domino down which sets of the chain reaction
2. Fixed wind draft
3. Angle of one domino with respect to the neighboring domino
4. Mass of one domino
5. Number of dominoes
6. Flatness of surface
Controlled Variables
Mass of each domino
The dominoes should be of the same mass; a domino with a large mass requires more force to topple than a domino with a small mass. Therefore, the time taken for all 50 dominoes to fall will be less for a smaller mass, giving us unfair value of time taken for all dominoes to fall. To ensure that they are of the same mass, we could use a mass balance to weigh each domino to determine if they are of equal mass (±0.1kg) and vernier calipers can be used to determine the height of each domino block.
Force applied to knock down the first domino
In order to fall a domino, a force is needed to be applied to push the first block down which will then set off a chain reaction all the way to the last block. If the force applied is not constant, it will affect the time taken for all the dominoes to fall as a greater initial force applied would mean that the 1st domino would fall faster. To obtain accurate value of time taken for all the dominoes to fall, the initial force used to push the first block down has to be constant so this way, the only factor which will affect the time taken for all blocks to fall would be the distance between them. Therefore, one way to keep the
Domino Effect IA
Investigate the effect of the distance between each domino on the time taken for all the dominoes to fall
Independent Variable: Distance, d/cm, between each domino. The distance d/cm is measured between the middle of one domino to the middle of the next domino
Dependent Variable: Time taken for all the dominoes to be toppled to the ground. The timing will start when the 1st domino is hit by a metal ball and it will stop when the last domino falls completely.
Controlled Variables:
1. Force used to push the first domino down which sets of the chain reaction
2. Fixed wind draft
3. Angle of one domino with respect to the neighboring domino
4. Mass of one domino
5. Number of dominoes
6. Flatness of surface
Controlled Variables
Mass of each domino
The dominoes should be of the same mass; a domino with a large mass requires more force to topple than a domino with a small mass. Therefore, the time taken for all 50 dominoes to fall will be less for a smaller mass, giving us unfair value of time taken for all dominoes to fall. To ensure that they are of the same mass, we could use a mass balance to weigh each domino to determine if they are of equal mass (±0.1kg) and vernier calipers can be used to determine the height of each domino block.
Force applied to knock down the first domino
In order to fall a domino, a force is needed to be applied to push the first block down which will then set off a chain reaction all the way to the last block. If the force applied is not constant, it will affect the time taken for all the dominoes to fall as a greater initial force applied would mean that the 1st domino would fall faster. To obtain accurate value of time taken for all the dominoes to fall, the initial force used to push the first block down has to be constant so this way, the only factor which will affect the time taken for all blocks to fall would be the distance between them. Therefore, one way to keep the