Finding Acceleration
Acceleration of motion can be determined by using ticker tape through the following equation:
Caution!:
t is the time taken from the initial velocity to the final velocity.
Example:
The ticker-tape in the figure above was produced by a toy car moving down a tilted runway. If the ticker-tape timer produced 50 dots per second, find the acceleration of the toy car.
Answer:
In order to find the acceleration, we need to determine the initial velocity, the final velocity and the time taken for the velocity change.
Initial velocity,
u = s/t
u = 3cm/0.02s
u =150cms −1
Final velocity,
v = s/t
v = 0.5cm/0.02s
v =25cms−1
Time taken for the velocity change,
t = (0.5 + 4 + 0.5) ticks = 5 ticks
t = 5 × 0.02s = 0.1s
Example:
A trolley is pushed up a slope. Diagram above shows ticker tape chart that show the movement of the trolley. Every section of the tape contains 5 ticks. If the ticker-tape timer produced 50 dots per second, determine the acceleration of the trolley.
Answer:
In order to find the acceleration, we need to determine the initial velocity, the final velocity and the time taken for the velocity change.
Initial velocity,
u= s/t
= 5cm/0.1s
=50cms−1
Final velocity
v= s/t
= 1cm/0.1s
=10cms−1
Time taken for the velocity change,
t = (2.5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 2.5) ticks = 20 ticks
t = 20 × 0.02s = 0.4s