saunders is god Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 Hey guys, for my IA I am slightly stuck. I'm doing stuff with inclined planes i.e ramps, and how changing the height above the ground and angle of incline affect the time taken for a ball to roll down, but I'm unsure as to how to keep the wooden ramp straight and still, because holding it would cause to much error, so they must be some way to ensure its stability during the motion of the ball? Thanks in advanced Its a fairly big ramp, like around 4 to 5 metres Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChikkyD Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 (edited) Have you tried using a retort stand, and a clinometre to measure the angle to then hold it in place (against the ground) with the retort clamp/stand? Your school should have a few retort stands, maybe. Mine did. For my inclined planes IA, I just used a frictionless ramp that my teacher had, casually lying around, but I'm sure wood with a retort stand and a clinometer to measure angles would work just as well EDIT: Just realised your ramp is approx 4m long. Does it need to be this long? Surely it doesn't . Perhaps try finding a shorter ramp, or, try it how I mentioned, see if it works, and if not, get a shorter ramp. Edited August 13, 2011 by ChikkyD Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
saunders is god Posted August 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 thanks for your reply, I might shorten it then i guess, i just thought that a longer ramp would give me better values with a less amount of error, but will a clamp and retort stand keep the ramp stable enough or not? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
saunders is god Posted August 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 help Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChikkyD Posted August 14, 2011 Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 thanks for your reply, I might shorten it then i guess, i just thought that a longer ramp would give me better values with a less amount of error, but will a clamp and retort stand keep the ramp stable enough or not?If you have a smaller ramp, it should, and I don't see why it couldn't. However, you may have to trial it a few ways and see which one works for you. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
saunders is god Posted August 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 i think i might even just use a pile of bricks to support the plank, so much easier Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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