Name_______________________ Per___
Constant Velocity Lab - How fast is it going??
Today you will be investigating the motion of an object and its velocity. The
question, ‘Is the car moving at a constant speed?’ seems like it should be easy to
answer, but the real question is ‘How do you know?’
Materials
• 1 Constant velocity car
• masking tape
• 1 Stop watch
• 1 meter stick
Procedure
Part 1
1. Set the buggy car to a slow speed.
2. Mark the starting point on the floor using a piece of masking tape. (This is the 0 cm point.) When you
begin, the front of the car should be at the starting point.
3. Determine how far the car goes in 2 seconds. Record this displacement, in cm, in Data Table 1. Repeat
this step to complete Data Table 1.
Part 2
1. Set the buggy car to a fast speed.
2. Repeat step 3 from part 1 and record all information in Data Table 2.
Data Table 1: Slow Speed
Time (s)
2
4
6
8
10
Displacement (cm)
Velocity (cm/s)
Data Table 1: Fast Speed
Time (s)
Displacement (cm)
Velocity (cm/s)
2
4
6
8
10
Graphing
Make a graph of Displacement (cm) on Y axis vs Time (s) on the x axis for both trials in separate colors
Title:
Analysis
1. Do your data points fall in a somewhat-straight line? YES / NO
2. What physical quantity is represented by the slope of the line?
3. How does the slope of graph 1 and graph 2 compare?
4. Is the velocity of the car constant or not constant? ___________________ How do you know?