IV. ANALYSIS Calculations
The average time that the basketball took to reach the ground was 0.99 seconds ± 0.09 seconds. The average was calculated by adding all of the times from both trials and then dividing by the number of time measurements. The uncertainty was found to be 0.09 seconds by calculating the standard deviation of all the times with a TI-84 calculator. The distance the ball dropped was measured to be -255.25 inches, with an estimated uncertainty of 1.00 inch. The distance was converted to meters: -255.25in (2.54cm/1in) (1m/100cm) = -6.48 m. The uncertainty was also converted to meters: 1in (2.54cm/1in) (1m/100cm) = 0.03 m. This results in the distance being -6.48 ± 0.03 meters.
The acceleration of the basketball was found
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The measured value for the force of gravity was -13 ± 2 m/s2, while the accepted value is -9.8 m/s2 1. The sources of uncertainty for the value included the uncertainty of the measurement when using a tape measure, and the random uncertainty that resulted from variations in the timing. The uncertainty was amplified when the values were manipulated in order to solve for the acceleration. Because the timers were operated by humans, the time measurements were not completely accurate. The timer was often started slightly after the ball was released, due to a delay based on human reaction time. The timer would be stopped at a more accurate time because the operator could see and anticipate when the ball was about to hit the ground. Since the timer was started late and stopped on time, the time measurements were shorter than they should have been. As a result this increased the calculated force of gravity, because the distance was divided by a smaller amount. If the experiment was to be done again, the trials could be recorded to produce more accurate time measurements. The recording could be started before the ball is released, with the timer in frame and also started. The time when the ball was released would be subtracted from the time when the ball hit the ground to determine the total time the ball was falling. This method should produce a value closer to the accepted force of gravity of -9.8