A student wishing to determine experimentally the acceleration g due to gravity has an apparatus that holds a small steel sphere above a recording plate, as shown above. When the sphere is released, a timer automatically begins recording the time of fall. The timer automatically stops when the sphere strikes the recording plate. The student measures the time of fall for different values of the distance D shown above and records the data in the table below. These data points are also plotted on the graph. |
The student can use these data for distance D and time t to produce a second graph from which the acceleration g due to gravity can be determined.
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