Physics Lab Acceleration of a Fan Cart
NAME:________________________________
The Purpose of the Lab activity today is to measure the acceleration of a fan driven car.
Procedure: Attach a ticker tape to the end of the car. Each tic is 1/60 second. Let the car travel
for at least 2 meters.
Data Table:
Time Interval (sec)
Displacement (mm)
Displacement/ Interval Average Velocity/
(Cumulative)
(mm)
Interval (mm/sec)
Questions:
1. Plot the Cumulative Distance vs Time. What is the shape of this graph?
2. Plot the Average Velocity vs Time. What is the shape of this graph?
3. How do the distances traveled in each interval change over time?
4. What is the value of the slope on the velocity vs. time graph? This value is the acceleration.
What are the units for this graph’s slope?