IB Physics: Analysing the impact of gravity on acceleration

Last week our young adepts of physical sciences were asked to investigate the acceleration due to gravity. 

The test can be executed in various ways in which our Year 12 students decided to measure how speed changes with: 

1. A falling object 

2. A ball rolling down a ramp

3. Timing oscillation (movement back and forth at a regular speed) of a pendulum.

What Year 12 learnt from this investigation? 

This task was designed to help students to learn nuances of proper scientific investigation, develop their analytical skills, and most importantly they learn how to properly evaluate the viability of a test based on the method used to conduct it. 

In all cases, results were fairly close to the expected value - within a reasonable margin of error - so, unfortunately, we won't be scheduling meetings with the Nobel Committee quite yet. 

To learn more about how Physics fits into our curriculum see the below: