Calculate theoretical and experimental data in general physics´experiments

physics

I m trying to figure it out how to calculate experimental time, experimental speed,experimental
acceleration, theorical time,theorical speed and theorical acceleration.
I need to calculate theoretical and experimental data in general physics´experiment laboratory. I have an inclined plane with a particle called ball.
Just let the ball free to go from one point to another-the ball slides down with the angle 15 degrees and the plane is 56 centimeters long.
As a result after the experiment,I obtained time and distance in centimeters for every sensor.(data added in the picture below) enter image description here

Im struggling how to calculate theoretical and experimental data with the added formulas and second Newton law. I did a free body diagram but it doesnt clarify how to calculate it. Any suggestion will be welcome. thank you.

Best Answer

The experimental data is just the measurement of the time to reach each sensor, so the two lines above the chart. You should copy the times into the second row of the chart. From the inclination of the plane you should be able to calculate a predicted acceleration due to gravity. Presumably you start with the ball at rest, so $v_0=0$. You can then predict the velocity as a function of time from your equation, the time the ball should have passed each sensor, and compare that with the measured data. I am not sure how your professor expects you to come up with the experimental values of velocity and acceleration. It might be an overall fit to get the acceleration. It might be computing the change in distance divided by the change in time, but that has the problem that the velocity is constantly changing.

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