Year 10 Science Acceleration 2009

YEAR 10 SCIENCE: TICKER TIMER PRACTICAL LESSON

Period 3 Thursday, 22/10/09 (Line 1) 11.15 – 12.25

Objective: To use a ticker timer to measure and demonstrate both constant speed
and acceleration.
Equipment: ticker timers (1per table group), ticker tape (2 x 1 m lengths each),
power packs, AC connectors.
Special needs: To be identified. Two adults will be available to assist where
necessary.

Intro: What are ticker timers used for? How do they work? How are they set up?
What are we going to attempt to demonstrate?

Body: With care and a friend assisting to minimise tangling of the tape, pull the first
tape through the timer at a constant speed. Pull only approximately 60 cm through,
and on the remaining 30cm of tape, identify the speed at which the tape was pulled
through (constant speed or acceleration) and the direction in which it was pulled.
Repeat with the second piece, this time accelerating the speed at which the tape is
being pulled through the machine. Mark in the same way. Complete the worksheet.

Conclusion: What were we able to demonstrate? What may be the reasons for a
variation on the expected result?

1
Year 10 Science Acceleration 2009

WORKSHEET: TICKER TIMER PRACTICAL.

AIM:

MATERIALS:
Ticker timer, complete with carbon disc
Ticker tape (2 x 1m lengths per student)
AC power supply and connecting wires

METHOD:

1) Set up ticker timer as per instructions. Measure off lengths of tape.

2) Start the timer and pull a piece of tape through at a constant speed until 60 cm of
tape has been pulled through. Label the tape and indicate direction of
movement.

3) Repeat step 2, this time pull the tape through with increasing speed. Label the
tape and indicate direction of movement.

4) Examine the tapes:

a) What can be observed about the spacing of the dots on the different tapes?

b) What is the difference?

5) On each tape, select a starting point. Count along the tape from the first dot,
marking off every fifth dot. Five dots represent 0.1 second. (See text book, p
125 for diagram). Measure the distances d1, d2, d3, d4 etc and record them in the
data table below.

CONSTANT SPEED

DISTANCE d1 d2 d3 d4 d5 d6 d7 d8 d9

2
Year 10 Science Acceleration 2009

ACCELERATION

DISTANCE d1 d2 d3 d4 d5 d6 d7 d8 d9

6) Plot a distance versus time graph for each set of data and draw a best-fit line.

7) Now cut tape along each marked segment (0.1 second intervals) (5-6 pieces).
For each tape, glue the segments alongside one another, creating a speed
versus time graph. What do you observe? Was the constant speed tape
constant? Was the acceleration constant?

3
Year 10 Science Acceleration 2009

Stannard, P & Williamson, K 2001, Science World 3, MacMillan Education,

Australia, Melbourne