- a set of paper cupcake holders

- a timing device with a second hand (a watch, cell phone, even an iPod with a display that shows the length of time in seconds that a song has played!)

- a tape measure or ruler (longer is better!) that allows you to establish a dropping height of at least 4-5 feet.

In our last lab, you launched rockets and estimated their maximum height using timing and angles.  But how did the air affect the rocket's flight?  Wouldn't it slow the rocket down?  Or - if it was windy - change its course?  How does moving through air affect the trajectory of a dropped object?

In this lab, you'll probably do MANY of the tasks we associate with the process of science, aside from perhaps publishing your data in a peer-reviewed journal!  Your success in this lab will be assessed by how much you do, but also by how carefully you do it, and how creatively you conceive of experiments to try and then try and record results.

• observation of data, and developing questions about trends, differences, and unique occurrences seen within that data,
• research into previous work on similar questions,
• building models and creating testable hypotheses,
• designing, and gathering new data through, experiments,
• testing and refining the models based on the analysis of new data collected,
• modifying or discarding incorrect hypotheses,
• developing interconnected hypotheses into theories,
• sharing data and results with peers for independent evaluation and testing, and
• publishing findings in peer-reviewed journals so that the community of science can advance.

Lab #3 Process:

1. Drop a single paper cupcake cup from a height of at least 4-5 feet.  Drop it in different orientations (right-side up, upside down, held at an angle).  Time how long it takes to hit the ground, and in what way it hits the ground.  Record your data.

2. Drop it from at least 5 different heights in exactly the same way, recording approximate time to fall.  Make a graph of height (on the vertical or "y" axis) and time (on the horizontal or "x" axis.)  Based on your results, is the cup accelerating?   (Note that just taking longer to fall from a greater height does not mean the cup is accelerating!  If you get a straight line on the graph of height versus time, that means the cup is falling at a constant rate; if you get a parabola on the graph, similar to that shown on the graphs in chapter 4, the cup is falling at an accelerated rate.)

3. Try dropping 2 or more cups nested together.  Do they fall faster?  Do they rotate differently from a single cup? 

4. Devise at least one other experiment you might do with the falling paper cupcake cups in your home, and try it.  Record what you wanted to explore, how you set up your experiment, what you did, what results you got, and what your conclusion was from the experiment.

5.  What can you say about how movement through the air affects a falling object?  Can you think of a common falling object that demonstrates this effect?

Your lab report should include responses to all Parts 1-5 above.  For this lab, while you are welcome to collaborate with others in the class, please submit your own individual report.  Aim for at least 2 pages here, typed.  Bring the lab report to our next on-campus lab, or if you prefer, email it to me within Blackboard as a message, not as an attachment.   Please don't post your lab report in the discussion forum.  But please do post any questions you have about the lab or ideas you want to explore.