Tank filled with a thin water wedge between two glass plates. A liquid-surface accelerometer can be used to measure acceleration directly. The displacement of the needle on the calibrated scale is in the opposite direction to the acceleration. Combination accelerometer and pendulum mounted on opposite sides of a rotating serving tray. As the apparatus rotates, the pendulum bob swings outward and the jam jar bob swings inward.
Students can try to account for the anomalous behaviour of the two bobs.
Perform an activity to analyze the motion of an object undergoing uniform acceleration. To perform ramp experiments, use grooved wooden moulding half-rounds, available from building suppliers, and steel balls. If the moulding is long enough, curve it. Compare the motion of a ball following the curved path and the straight- line path. Even though the shortest distance between two points may be a straight line, the shortest time needed to travel between those two points occurs when one follows the longer, curved path.