Gravitational Potential Energy Lab—page 81
Objective -calculate the gravitational potential energy and the kinetic energy of balls with different masses
Question - How does changing the mass of a ball affect its gravitational potential energy?
Hypothesis - _(if, then, because…. ________________________________
Materials: various balls, balance, meter stick, calculator
Procedure
1. Measure the ball mass at each station.
2. Record the height from which the ball will be dropped (use the same height for all stations).
3. Observe how high it bounces, repeat for 3 trials.
4. Calculate the gravitational potential energy based on the height you dropped the ball for each trial.
(GPE) Gravitational potential energy=mass(kg) x 10 m/s 2 x height(m) (GPE=mgh)
Design a chart to collect the following data. The manipulated variable should be listed in the left column, the responding variables in THREE trials (PLUS a column to average them) on the right. (Do on page 80)
Height from which you are dropping ball: __________ (mark with tape and label)
Data
Tennis ball
Baseball
Golf ball
Plastic ball
Analysis
Mass observation of bounce gravitational potential energy
Draw a graph in your notes and mark across the data points for the different masses of balls (m.v. is across the bottom and r.v is on the side). Graph your data on the classroom graph. Do this on page 80.
Conclusion:
1.What happens to the gravitational potential energy as you increase the mass?
2.What happens to the gravitational potential energy as you increase the height?