Partner: Jordan Stone
Soup Cans Lab
Research Question:
Will increasing the height of the ramp increase the velocity of a can of tomato soup rolling down it?
Will increasing the height of the ramp increase the velocity of a can of tomato soup rolling down it?
Response:
The velocity of the tomato soup can will increase as the height of the ramp increases. Throughout the multiple trials, one can see that the increased height in the ramp decreases the time it takes for the can to roll down. Since velocity is the rate of change in position, you can calculate the velocity. This shows us that the increasing height causes an increase in velocity.
By projecting the forces in the x-direction and ignoring the force of friction, you get that acceleration in the x direction is g*sin theta. Since g (the force of gravity) is constant, increasing the height of the ramp would increase theta which would then increase acceleration. Since acceleration is the rate of change in velocity, an increase in acceleration would indicate an increase in velocity. This all means that the higher the ramp, the larger the velocity. This confirms the research question and is proved with the velocity vs time graph shown above.