This lab is a condensed version of Galileo's famous ramp labs. Galileo set out to investigate gravity, but he found it too difficult to measure the motion of freely falling objects. In order to slow the motion down, he rolled balls down ramps that were inclined very slightly. He called his ramp a "gravity dillution device" for obvious reasons.

We're dilluting gravity just like Galileo did, and we're using very similar instruments. Of course, Galileo didn't have stopwathes; he used a water clock. Nonetheless, the observations we make in this lab, the same ones Galileo made, constitute a giant leap ahead of the Physics of the middle ages and pave the way for Isaac Newton's theories.

Be very careful with your graphs. It can be difficult to find slopes mathematically, so don't be afraid to try a few graphically.

In this lab, we explore the relationship between position, velocity, and acceleration.

Constant Velocity
Mark 6 equally spaced points across two desks using masking tape.
Tilt your ramp against the table, and roll your marble down it starting at a point about one quarter up.
Find Dt for your marble to go from the 1st tape mark to the 2nd, from the 1st fo the 3rd, from the 1st to the 4th…
Create a distance vs. time graph for the motion of your marble.
Find the velocity of your marble.

Changing Velocity
Mark off 5 equal distances on your ramp (including the ends) using masking tape.
Find Dt for your marble to go from the 1st tape mark to the 2nd, from the 1st fo the 3rd, from the 1st to the 4th…
Create a distance vs. time graph for the motion of your marble.
Create a velocity vs. time graph for the motion of your marble.
Find the acceleration of your marble.

Questions
1. Explain why the slope of your first distance vs. time graph represents velocity.
2. Explain why the slope of your velocity vs. time graph represents acceleration.
3. What is the area under your velocity vs. time graph?
4. What does the area under your velocity vs. time graph represent? Explain that.