Stopwatch Experiment Report

Improvements

Improvements can be done to minimize the effect of errors so that the experiment results will be more precise and accurate in the future.

Random Errors

In order to reduce random errors which is caused by reaction time when taking stopwatch reading we will be more careful in planning of experiment. Instead of letting only one people to count and take the reading of the revolution of the rubber stopper at the same time, two people will be assigned for it so that the reading will become more accurate. This will help people in charge to count the number of revolutions to concentrate fully on the revolution while people who is controlling the stopwatch can concentrate fully when to start and stop the stopwatch. This can prevent from

We need to increase the number of revolutions from 10 times to 20 times so that we will gain a consistent result .Consistency in experiment is important to obtain a precise outcome.

Systematic Errors

There are a few suggestions that can be taken to improve the systematic errors.

As to overcome the instrument fault such as zero error in ruler, it is suggested to use a new meter ruler. New meter ruler has high accuracy and the scale is clear enough so that people can take the reading easily.

Next, it is preferred to use unstrectchable nylon string so that the radius will remain constant during the experiment. It is very crucial to maintain a constant radius in this experiment as it acts as fixed variable, supposed to be at the same length throughout the experiment.

Use glass tube rather than plastic tube to reduce the effect of friction in experiment. Glass tube has smoother surface area than plastic tube so that it can overcome frictional force.

Another step is to prevent the plastic tube from being sliding up and sliding down in the experiment , we must ensure that the person holding the pipe has a strong and good grip on it as to maintain its position on the

Photogate sensor is capable in measuring a very accurate speed so we can fix the speed of the rotation by using photogate sensor in our experiment. The sensor has an infrared LED emitter on one arm and a photo transistor on the other arm. As the mass passes the photogate sensor , it will block the infrared beam that is exist between the infrared LED emitter and photogate sensor. The timing of beam blocking will determine the speed of the rotation. It operates based on Pendulum-Timing process where the timing begins when the photogate is first interrupted and the timing continues until it is interrupted for the second time which will result in the period of rotation. This device is very important as our experiment require a constant speed. When photogate sensor is available we can compare the speed of rotation whether it is constant or fluctuating throughout the experiment. Hence , we can decide whether to use or not to use data gained. If the speed is constant , then the data can be