TI-Nspire™ Activities: Physics

In this activity, students investigate the motion of a ball rolling up and down an inclined plane. They explore the displacement of the ball over time.

Students use a Vernier CBR2 or Go!Motion sensor to collect data on the position of the ball over time.

Students fit a parabola to the position vs. time graph. They use the characteristics of the data set (i.e., the vertex of the data points) to predict the equation that best fits the data.

Students then adjust the equation for the parabola until it fits the data reasonably well.

Students compare this best-fit equation with the predicted equation describing the position of the ball over time.

Students then create a tangent to the best-fit curve. They slide the tangent along the curve, recording the slope of the tangent at various points.

Finally, students plot the slope of the tangent line vs. time and find the best-fit equation for the resulting line. They compare this equation to the predicted equation for the velocity of the ball with time. The similarity between these equations illustrates the relationship between velocity and displacement (i.e., velocity is the slope of the tangent to the displacement curve).