10/12/2016 : Ballistic Pendulum

Lab #14: Ballistic Pendulum
Name:   Charles Xu,
Partner: Anthony, Michell
Date:     10/12/2016

Statement:

For the purpose of this experiment is to find the firing speed of a ball from a spring-loaded gun.

Summary:

In this experiment, we use the spring-loaded "gun" fires a steel ball into a nylon block, which is supported by strings. We measure the mass of the steel ball, mass of the block, and length from top of the spring to the center of the block before the experiment. Then we fire the ball four times at the same notch and record four angles. Then use the uncertainties in your measurements for the masses, length, and angles to determine the experimental uncertainty. 

Setup for the Experiment with Spring-Loaded Gun

Measurements for Experimental Data

Calculation Done to Find the Propagated Uncertainty of the Firing Speed

Calculation for Estimate Distance

From the calculation, we estimate the distance that the ball will travel in x direction if we fire the ball from the edge of the table. We place a piece of carbon paper on top of the other piece of paper on the ground, then fire the ball from the edge of the table. Turns out we have the perfect match. We have 2.3 meters as measurement, 2.3 meters for calculation.

Conclusion:

Comparing the calculation to our verification, we have a successful experiment. We successfully calculated the firing speed of the spring-loaded gun at first notch. The important thing to notice is that the length of the radius should be the top of the string to the middle of the block. I think it would affect the answer if was done incorrectly.