Alice Pittard

Mr. Keller
Epsilon
December 14 2021

Popper Lab Write-Up

Introduction

Course domains:
We designed and executed investigations by designing experimental procedures to
answer the research objective. We used appropriate equations to calculate unknown forces with
the variables we already had. We identified which scientific laws to use to solve for certain
forces, such as using Newton’s second law. We used mathematics and computational thinking by
identifying and using appropriate physics equations when they applied to our lab.

Equations:

❑
Original Equation:
F=ma V ²=V 20+ 2 a( y− y 0)
∑
❑

Derived Equation(s) We Fp=m( a p + g): We used this V = √❑: We used this to find
Used: to find the force of the pop. the velocity.
V²
a= : We used this to
2× y vo
find the acceleration.

Variables

There wasn’t an independent variable. The dependent variable was the height the popper
reached. The constants were the popper’s mass and height.

Research Objective

We want to measure the force of the popper to the nearest Newton.

Materials

We used a crying popper, a tape measure, and a phone for video recording.
Procedure

Steps:
1. We picked a place on the wall which had height measurements
2. We pinched the popper on the sides and pushed down and then released quickly, so as to
not let our fingers interfere with it when it launched
3. We took a slow-motion video of step 2 and then went back and paused the video when
the popper reached its maximum height
4. We used the height marker in the video to measure the maximum height, and recorded it.

Figure 1: Launching Figure 2: Measuring

Figure 1 shows Wyatt after launching the popper, which has reached a velocity of 0 in the top
right corner of the image.
Figure 2 shows August pointing at the maximum height that the popper reached.

Data and Analysis

The height column is the maximum height the popper reached that time.

To find to velocity for the next column, we used the equation √ ❑ from the original
equation v 2=v 20 +2 a( y− y 0 ). To get from the latter to the former, we first eliminated v 20 and y 0
because they were both 0 (the velocity at the peak of the popper’s height, and the starting
height). Then we added 2 gh to each side to get 2 gh=v2 and found the square root of both to get
our final equation.

The popper height column is the height of the elastic/mesh part of the popper.

V²
To find the acceleration, we used the equation from the same original equation:
2× y vo
v 2=v 20 +2 a( y− y 0 ). We got rid of v 20 because it was 0 (initial velocity) to get v 2=2 a Δ y . Then
we divided both sides by 2( Δ y) to get the equation we used.

The mass column is just the popper’s mass.

❑
We found the force of the pop using the equation Fp=m( a p + g) from ∑ F=ma. We
❑
expanded the original equation to Fp−mg=ma then added mg to both sides and factored it to get
the final equation.

Our data shows that the average force of the pop was 1.4499 N, with a range from 1.3181
N to 1.5827 N.
Error Analysis

We might have popped the popper slightly differently every time, especially because the
popper had a range of heights. We tried to minimize that error by having the same person pop it
every time. However, he still could have changed it some unintentionally. That could change the
height some, but not by too much, so the data is still pretty reliable.
Finding the height based on the video is another source of error, because we just took a
slow-motion video and paused it when we thought it was at its maximum height, then zoomed in
some to see the height on the tape measurer behind it. We could have paused the video when it
wasn’t at its maximum height, or the height could not be very accurate because the popper
wasn’t right next to the measuring tape, so we could have mentally lined it up wrong. We tried to
minimize that error by trying our best to pause it at the right time and line it up right in our
heads. This source of error also could change the height some, but not very much, so the data is
still close, just not as precise.

Conclusion

The goal of this lab was to measure the force the popper exerted, in Newtons. Our results
show that the average height was 1.4 meters, with a range of 0.3 meters (1.3 - 1.6 meters), and
the average force of the pop was 1.4 Newtons, with a range of 0.3 N (1.3 - 1.6 N). We were able
to measure the force in Newtons, using different equations. Some possible sources of error were
popping the popper differently at different times, and finding the height based on the video.
Those could change the data some, but it would still be pretty close, because our range of heights
and force exerted wasn’t very large. A possible fix to the lab would be to have a set way to pop
the popper.