Question

lab: motion analysis with hovercrafts
purpose: to compare the position - time graphs for a hovercraft pushed across the room at different rates.
materials: hovercraft, graph paper, measuring device (metre sticks, measuring tape), timing device (stopwatch or phone), tape
procedure:

1. collect the materials listed (and any others you may need)
2. turn the hovercraft on, place it on the floor and give it a gentle kick or push. observe the motion.
3. using a measuring tape, measure out several known distances on the floor and mark them with a little piece of tape.
4. have one group member gently push or kick the hovercraft from your starting position. other members should time how long it takes to reach the distances you marked on the floor. record the distances and times in table 1 below. note: you may need to practice a couple times to get everyone timing at the same time)

table 1: slow moving hovercraft data
position ( ) forward from start
time (sec) 0.43 0.72 0.76 0.78 0.94 1.61

1. repeat step 4 but push or kick the hovercraft a little harder. remember to record the distances and times in table 2 below.

table 2: medium speed moving hovercraft data
position ( ) forward from start
time (sec) 0.28 0.25 0.71 0.73 0.66 1.63

1. repeat step 4 but push or kick the hovercraft a little harder than in step 5. remember to record the distances and times in table 3 below.

table 3: fast moving hovercraft data
position ( ) forward from start
time (sec) 0.41 0.43 0.78 0.41 0.47 0.39
analysis:
for each trial, find the speed of the hovercraft.
speed of slow hovercrafts line
speed of medium speed hovercrafts line
speed of fast moving hovercrafts line

Explanation:

Step1: Recall speed formula

The formula for speed is $v=\frac{d}{t}$, where $v$ is speed, $d$ is distance, and $t$ is time.

Step2: Calculate speed for slow - moving hovercraft

For the slow - moving hovercraft, we take each distance - time pair from Table 1. For example, if $d = 1m$ and $t=0.43s$, then $v_1=\frac{1}{0.43}\approx2.33m/s$. We do this for all pairs and then can find an average speed if required.

Step3: Calculate speed for medium - moving hovercraft

From Table 2, for a distance $d = 1m$ and $t = 0.28s$, $v=\frac{1}{0.28}\approx3.57m/s$. Repeat for all pairs.

Step4: Calculate speed for fast - moving hovercraft

From Table 3, when $d = 1m$ and $t = 0.4s$, $v=\frac{1}{0.4}=2.5m/s$. Repeat for all pairs.

Answer:

The speeds are calculated using the formula $v = \frac{d}{t}$ for each distance - time pair in the respective tables for slow, medium, and fast - moving hovercrafts. The specific values depend on the individual distance and time measurements in the tables.