Lab 2: Drag Racing
by Veronica
Davis (Cornell University)
Name:
______________________________
Date:
____________________
Group Members:
_______________________
_______________________
Objectives
·
Analyze the
relationship between velocity and acceleration
·
Calculate an object’s
average acceleration
·
Collect data and
interpret it
·
Create and analyze a
graph showing acceleration
A. Pre lab Questions
1. What is acceleration?
Acceleration is a vector quantity, which is defined as "the
rate at which an object changes its velocity."
2. How does it relate to velocity?
An object has acceleration if the velocity is
changing.
You will work in
pairs to calculate an object’s acceleration.
We will watch a clip from the movie.
Pay close attention to what is happening in the scene. Write down your observations.
There is a drag racing scene at the beginning of
the movie Gone in 60 Seconds. It is the first action scene of the
movie.
The
Scene: The two characters steal a car and pull up to a traffic light. The driver of the stolen car looks over at
the girl in the other car and says “I love you”. They race down the street.
The end of the scene is when they pass the cop and he says “I have a
vehicle traveling West”.
Some
observations: The cop says the cars are traveling west at 80 mph.
Note: you may have to show the clip two times.
C. Class Discussion.
As a class we will decide on standard procedures to determine the acceleration.
The student will time how long it takes the car to
travel from the stop light to the point where they reach the cop. At that point we know the car is traveling
80mph. In groups of two the students
will guess the remaining velocities and how long it took them to reach that
velocity. This should be based on the
fact they knew it took a certain amount of time to go 80 mph.
We will watch the
clip. Record the data for column 1 and
2. Be sure to note the units.
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Time |
Velocity (mph) |
Velocity (m/s) |
Acceleration |
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O seconds |
0 mph |
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80 mph |
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The scene from the Fast and the Furious is the
first drag racing scene, which is about 15 minutes into the movie.
You will use the same
procedures from the Section C.
They show the speedometer of the green and red
car.
We will watch the
clip. Record the data for column 1 and
2. Be sure to note the units.
Color of Car:
__________________
Student should note if they are timing the red or
green car
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Time |
Velocity (mph) |
Velocity (m/s) |
Acceleration |
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F. Calculation
1. In column 3 in Section D and F, write down the velocity in
meters per second. To convert velocity
from miles per hour to meters per second:
Velocity
(miles/hour) X 1/3600 (hour/seconds) X 1609 (meters/miles)
= Velocity (meters/second)
Graph velocity on the
y-axis and time on the x-axis
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Velocity (meters/second) |
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Time (Seconds)
2. Summarize your
results in a paragraph.