Factors Affecting Acceleration Due to Gravity in Free Fall Experiments

[nnis13]

What factors may cause the experimental value of acceleration due to gravity to be different from tha accepted value in a free fall experiment?

Will it be something like air resistance , human error , instruments error or wrong calibration ??

 

[Delphi51]

All of those plus g does vary a little on the Earth's surface. Oil companies actually use the variation to find likely oil fields.

Much depends on how you measured g. The usual approach is to estimate the inaccuracy in measured quantities and "propagate" those errors through to the final calculated answer.

 

[nnis13]

All of those plus g does vary a little on the Earth's surface. Oil companies actually use the variation to find likely oil fields.

Much depends on how you measured g. The usual approach is to estimate the inaccuracy in measured quantities and "propagate" those errors through to the final calculated answer.

So all these (air resistance , human error , instruments error or wrong calibration) are true? Because it's a question i have to answer for an experiment

 

[ideasrule]

So all these (air resistance , human error , instruments error or wrong calibration) are true? Because it's a question i have to answer for an experiment

Well, exactly how did you do the experiment? If we tell you "air resistance" and the experiment used a vacuum chamber, that isn't too useful, is it?

 

[nnis13]

Well, exactly how did you do the experiment? If we tell you "air resistance" and the experiment used a vacuum chamber, that isn't too useful, is it?

It was an experiment with a picket fence and a photogate

 

[ideasrule]

It was an experiment with a picket fence and a photogate

Well, then there's no human error because a computer is doing the measurements. (You could of course say there's an error associated with the person dropping the picket fence--and in fact that's the main source of error here--but you have to be way more specific.) Instrument error, calibration errors, etc. are all valid, but they probably play a small role.

 

[nnis13]

Well, then there's no human error because a computer is doing the measurements. (You could of course say there's an error associated with the person dropping the picket fence--and in fact that's the main source of error here--but you have to be way more specific.) Instrument error, calibration errors, etc. are all valid, but they probably play a small role.

Yes i know that some of these might play a small role but actually it's a question i have to answer that asks what factors may cause a difference, so i think it doesn't matter if they play a small role i just have to mention all of them right ?