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Bienhur Andemariam
Science level two
Investigation of the Speed of a Trolley Down a Ramp and Its Gradient
Introduction
In this investigation I will be testing how the speed of the trolley is affected by the
gradient of the ramp
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One of these factors is gravitational potential energy
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The energy is stored as a result of the
gravitational pull of the earth for the object
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I am going to increase the gradient of the
ramp and therefore increase the height of the trolley
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Gravitational potential energy = mass x gravitational field strength x height
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As it falls it loses GPE and gains an
equal amount of KE
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The amount of
gravitational potential energy that the trolley has at the top of the ramp should be
transferred directly into kinetic energy, but this doesn’t happen as some of the energy is
wasted as heat and sound
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The main aim of this investigation is to find the acceleration of the trolley as the height of
the ramp is increased
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Acceleration = change in velocity / time taken
Friction will also affect the speed of the trolley
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It will slow the trolley down and produce heat and
sound
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The
independent variable will be the height of the ramp
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The control
variables are variables that I will keep constant so that it is a fair test
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I will measure the acceleration of the trolley by running it down a ramp, through a light
gate
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I also will measure the height of the ramp for each experiment but the acceleration of the
objects will be measured by the provided meter
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I will do each experiment three times and take the average result for each height to
ensure an accurate result
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As the gradient of the ramp
decreased the acceleration of the trolley will decrease and the time taken will be increase
as the trolley goes slow
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546
1
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085
1
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826

Time
taken(s)
Trial 2
1
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309
1
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965
0
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619
1
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064
0
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821

1
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2746
1
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9912
0
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29
51
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1
66
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49

Average time calculation
The distance between two light gates was given as 66cm
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546 + 1
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619 = 5
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041 ÷ 3 = 1
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6803=39
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The averages
of the 3 readings for each height have been calculated to find one value for each height
so that they can be plotted on a graph
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Bienhur Andemariam
Science level two
The graph shows that draw on different graph paper is on the average acceleration at
each height and it is clear from the graph and the line of best fit that the acceleration is
increasing as the height of the ramp is increased
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062m/s²
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77 ÷ 66 = 0
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Evaluation
Overall the experiment was done quite well and the results gathered were accurate and
repeatable
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I did not have any anomalous results probably
because the trolley was rolled down the ramp from exactly the same point and the meter
didn’t make any errors
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The experiment
could have been extended if I carried out more runs for one height to find a more
accurate average and also I could have tested more heights to see if the trend is the same

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