Gizmos Student Exploration Free-Fall Laboratory NEWEST 2022-2023

Vocabulary: acceleration, air resistance, free fall, instantaneous velocity, terminal velocity, velocity, vacuum
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. Suppose you dropped a feather and a hammer at the same time. Which object would hit the
ground first? I believe the hammer falls faster since it weighs more.
2. Imagine repeating the experiment in an airless tube, or vacuum. Would this change the
result? If so, how? The result would be different since there will be no air the feather won’t
glide; it will do a free fall. They would fall at the same time.
Gizmo Warm-up
The Free-Fall Laboratory Gizmo allows you to measure the motion of an object in free fall. On the DESCRIPTION tab, check that the Shuttlecock is selected, the Initial height is 3 meters, and the Atmosphere is Air.
1. Click Play () to release the shuttlecock. How long does it take to fall to the bottom? 0.90s
2. Select the GRAPH tab. The box labeled h (m) should be checked, displaying a graph of height vs. time. What does this graph show?
It shows that the shuttlecock is accelerating downwards.
3. Turn on the v (m/s) box to see a graph of velocity vs. time. Velocity is the speed and direction of the object. Velocity is also referred to as instantaneous velocity. Because the shuttlecock is falling downward, its velocity is negative.
Does the velocity stay constant as the object drops? No
4. Turn on the a (m/s/s) box to see a graph of acceleration vs. time. Acceleration is the rate at which the velocity changes over time. What does this graph show?