In this lab you will measure the Earth's gravitational acceleration using your Mindstorm.

None.

• Your Mindstorm should act as a pendulum that you swing over surface that has a dark/light transition.
• Build a Mindstorm pendulum using some string or wire, the RCX brick, and a light sensor (mounted to sense the surface below the pendulum.
• Using Investigator Program Level 1, 2, or 3, write a program to collect light sensor data every 0.05 seconds for at least 10 seconds.
• Upload the data to the computer.
• Use Microsoft Excel to determine the Earth's gravitational accelaration as measured in your experiment. The following equation may be useful:
  
  where T is the period of oscillation (in seconds), L is the length of the pendulum (in meters) measured from the point of rotation to the center of gravity of the pendulum, and g is the Earth's gravitational acceleration (in m/s²). Keep in mind that this equation is accurate for angles of less than 10 degrees.
• Your grade will be based on performance, design, and creativity.

Submit your spreadsheet with a graph. Your spreadsheet should clearly show your calculations and final result for experimental gravitational acceleration of the Earth.

This assignment was developed by Dr. Chris Taylor and based on a similar experiment developed by Dr. Eric Wang.