The objective of this lab was to first and foremost become familiar with the Lego Robot that we would use frequently throughout the course. Next we were introduced to Labview a program commonly used to record and convert scientific data. Our final and most important task in this lab was to use the Lego Robot to understand the relationship between distance, velocity and acceleration in an experiment in which we controlled the acceleration. By connecting our Lego Robot to Labview, we were able to a select its acceleration speed. (note: we entered the circumference of the wheels of the robot into Labview as a constant.)
Once a power was selected for acceleration, we lined a ruler along the path of the robot in order to measure the distance traveled. We did this 3 times at different acceleration powers; 50, 75, and 100.
We used the formula: average speed = distance traveled/time to travel distance
Because we entered the circumference of the wheel into Labview, the program generated a distance traveled for the robot, which we were to compare to our own observations.
Data
1st speed: 50 Acceleration
computer 15 cm
ruler 17 cm
computer 15 cm
ruler 16 cm
computer 15 cm
ruler 17 cm
2nd speed: 75 Acceleration
computer 24 cm
ruler 25 cm
computer 24 cm
ruler 27 cm
computer 23 cm
ruler 27 cm
3rd speed: 100 Acceleration
computer 35 cm
ruler 39 cm
computer 35 cm
ruler 37 cm
computer 36 cm
ruler 37 cm
In our experiment we found our margin of error to be pretty standard. We were accurate in our measurements and recording. In this lab we got to see just how accurate and efficient the distance formula is in determining distance and velocity. We also got to play around with the Lego Robots and learn how Lego has surprisingly contributed to the world of science. Overall it was a highly interesting lab that helped me better understand what distance, speed, velocity and acceleration all have to do with each other.
