This demonstration shows a mass as it falls. The pupose being to help students visualize the acceleration of gravity. A Video camera is used which can capture images at 30 frames per second so the motion of the mass falling past measuring marks can be viewed, recorded and analyzed quantitatively.
The equipment needed for this demo is: A video camera, TV and VCR, a long strip of paper, a marker, and a ball of some sort. The ball must be large enough to view in a still frame (2" to 3" diameter)
The video camera is set so a sheet of 2 by 8 meters of paper with black marker lines every ten centimeters are viewed. By making the height less, you sacrifice fall time and the acceleration might not be as clear. Making the height more would require a big room, tall ladder and a video camera with an extra-wide lens.
The ball is held at the top black line and released. The camera will record the ball's motion. The tape can be played through on a VCR using the FRAME ADVANCE option to page through the images. The distances can be measured on the black lines and the time is equal to the number of images scrolled through plus one with each image counting as 1/30th of a second
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