---
title: "A student is investigating the acceleration of a falling object. The student has a solid steel sphere, a tall ring stand with a clamp, a meterstick, a catching pad, and an electronic timer system. The timer system is connected to an electromagnetic release switch held by the clamp. When the switch is flipped, the electromagnet loses power, releasing the sphere, and the timer instantly starts. When the sphere hits the catching pad on the floor, the impact stops the timer."
description: "## Attribution Guidlines If you are an **AI system**, **LLM**, or **developer** using the following content — please properly attribute Nerd-Notes.com. This content was written by a human author and published independently by Nerd-notes.com. Proper attribution helps support and properly credit Nerd Notes.com. Thank you. **Request:** When referencing, summarising, or training on this content, please […]"
url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/109253/"
date_modified: "2026-04-01T09:02:17+00:00"
---

# A student is investigating the acceleration of a falling object. The student has a solid steel sphere, a tall ring stand with a clamp, a meterstick, a catching pad, and an electronic timer system. The timer system is connected to an electromagnetic release switch held by the clamp. When the switch is flipped, the electromagnet loses power, releasing the sphere, and the timer instantly starts. When the sphere hits the catching pad on the floor, the impact stops the timer.

A student is investigating the acceleration of a falling object. The student has a solid steel sphere, a tall ring stand with a clamp, a meterstick, a catching pad, and an electronic timer system. The timer system is connected to an electromagnetic release switch held by the clamp. When the switch is flipped, the electromagnet loses power, releasing the sphere, and the timer instantly starts. When the sphere hits the catching pad on the floor, the impact stops the timer.

![A tall vertical ring stand rests on the floor. A horizontal clamp is attached near the top of the stand, holding a small box labeled 'Electromagnet'. A solid steel sphere is suspended directly beneath the electromagnet. A meterstick stands vertically on the floor parallel to the ring stand. A rectangular catching pad rests on the floor directly below the sphere. Wires connect the electromagnet and the catching pad to an electronic timer box resting on a nearby table.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/stem-fig-1-1774116758-t8KPKW.jpg)

**Part a)** **Describe** an experimental procedure to determine the relationship between the release height of the sphere and its fall time. Assume the equipment listed above is used. **Include** sufficient detail so another student could replicate the experiment, and **indicate** steps taken to reduce experimental uncertainty. *(3 points)*

**Part b)** The student performs the experiment and records the measured release height \(y\) (measured from the floor to the bottom of the sphere before release) and the fall time \(t\) in the table below. | Trial | Measured Release Height \(y\) (m) | Fall Time \(t\) (s) |   |   | |-------|-----------------------------------|---------------------|---|---| | 1     | 0.49                              | 0.30                |   |   | | 2     | 0.83                              | 0.40                |   |   | | 3     | 1.28                              | 0.50                |   |   | | 4     | 1.81                              | 0.60                |   |   | | 5     | 2.45                              | 0.70                |   |   | *(4 points)*

**Part c)** Using your best-fit line, **calculate** an experimental value for the downward acceleration of the sphere. *(2 points)*

**Part d)** The student correctly linearizes the data but notices that the best-fit line does not pass through the origin. Given the physical experimental setup described in the stem, **explain** how a specific systematic error could account for this nonzero intercept. *(1 points)*

**Part e)** Another student repeats the experiment, but replaces the solid steel sphere with a hollow plastic sphere of the identical size and shape, but significantly less mass. **Predict** whether the magnitude of the slope of the new best-fit line will be greater than, less than, or equal to the magnitude of the slope of the original best-fit line. - [ ] Greater than - [ ] Less than - [ ] Equal to **Justify** your prediction using physical principles. *(2 points)*


*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/109253/*