Experiment 2: Kinematics of Human Motion
Laboratory Report
Abstract
Experiment 2, which consists of four
activities, is about Kinematics. It is the study of
motion without regard of force or cause of the
object’s movement (Raqif, 2018). In the first
activity, the group had to predict what the
graphs of displacement versus time and velocity
versus time would look like, given the condition
that a. a person is moving away from the device
(Logger Pro), b. a person is moving towards the
device and c. a person is moving away the
device with increasing speed. Based on the results,
displacement can either increase or decrease
depending on the starting point even at constant
velocity. Afterwards, the Logger Pro was
utilized to find out what the graphs would really
look like. In the second activity, the given graph
of position versus time and velocity versus time
had to be replicated using a logger pro. In the
third activity, the distance travelled by one of the
group member in a straight line for a period of
10 seconds was measured and recorded for the
calculation of the average velocity and the
instantaneous velocity. And in the final
experiment, each member of the group measured
their reaction time while conscious and
unconscious. Reaction time varies from person
to person and being distracted can greatly affect
that.
1.Introduction
In Physics, motion is a change in the
position of an object over time. Newton’s Law
of Motion, which is formulated by English
physicist and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton,
describes the relations between the forces acting
on a body and the motion of the body. In these 4
activities we did, human body motion is
required. In the first activity we used a device
called Logger Pro to find the graphs of
displacement versus time and the velocity
versus time. The Logger Pro is utilized to find
the relationship between time, displacement,
velocity and to complete experiments. The
device can detect the movement of a person’s
body in a given time frame. In the second
activity the group was tasked to imitate the
graphs of position versus time and velocity
versus time. In the third activity the group was
tasked to measure the distance travelled by our
classmate in 10 seconds and find the
instantaneous velocity. This concept can be used
by car companies to measure the velocity of
their car products before selling it to customers
to see if the car is working well. In the final
activity we were tasked to measure our reaction
time, unconscious and conscious. Measuring
reaction time is a must especially if you’re an
athlete in a specific sport to see how fast can you
react in, for example catching a ball or guarding
an opponent. This experiment aims to illustrate
graphs for Displacement versus Time and
Velocity versus Time, to measure the total
displacement, average velocity and
instantaneous velocity of a student whose
walking in a straight line for 10 seconds, and to
determine the student’s reaction time while
focused and distracted.
2.Theory
Three concepts: speed, velocity , and
acceleration were essential in the experiment.
Speed is a scalar quantity that measures how fast
or slow an object is moving, but with no
direction. It is also referred to as the average
speed because it shows the ratio between
distance and time travelled by the object.
Velocity, on the contrary, is a vector
quantity since it includes both magnitude and
time travelled by an object. It is referred to as
the average velocity which is the rate of
displacement (change in position from starting
point to end point) over the elapsed time of
travel. The difference between average velocity
and instantaneous velocity is that instantaneous
velocity shows the velocity of an object at a
specific point of travel, while average velocity
does not.
Lastly, acceleration is a vector quantity
that is referred to as the rate of change in the
velocity of an object at a certain point of time,
which is usually in 1 second. When an object is
moving at a constant change in velocity per
uniform increase in time, it is known as the
constant acceleration. If an object is moving at a
constant speed or velocity, and therefore has
zero acceleration, it is known as the constant Figure 1. Logger Pro
motion.
These are the formulas relevant and For the third activity, one member of the
essential in the experiment of kinematics of group walked in a straight line for 10 seconds
human motion: wherein another member measured in meters
(with a meter stick) and recorded the distance
travelled per second in order to get the necessary
2𝑦
t=√ 𝑦 data in determining the relationship between
displacement and time, as well as instantaneous
where t= time
velocity and time. The average velocity per
y= measurement in the meter stick (cm)
second was computed with the use of this
g= 9.8m/s²
formula:
𝛥𝑦
𝛥𝑦 Average Velocity=𝑦𝑦
Average Velocity=
𝑦𝑦 wherein, x is the measurement of the distance
travelled in meters and t is the elapsed time with
Instantaneous Velocity= 2⊽ respect to the initial time.
The instantaneous velocity for every time
where 𝛥𝑦= change in distance
interval was measured with this formula:
𝛥𝑦= change in time
Instantaneous Velocity= 2⊽
For activity 4, to determine the
3.Methodology conscious and unconscious reaction time of each
of the member of the group, a meter stick was
held by one member (A) at the 50cm mark while
In the first activity, the members of the
another member’s(B) hand was by the 0 cm
group were tasked to predict and take a picture
mark ready to catch the meter stick once let go
of what the graphs of displacement versus time
by member A. This procedure was repeated but
as well as velocity versus time would look like,
instead of member B anticipating for when to
in a period of 10 seconds, using a Logger Pro
catch the stick, he was asked to use his phone as
device with the following conditions: a. a person
a distraction. The measurement of where
moving away from starting point, b. a person
member B’s index finger landed was recorded to
moving towards the logger pro, and c. a person
determine both conscious and unconscious
moving away from starting point with increasing
reaction time of member B. The members took
speed.
turn, alternating positions, so that each member
For the second activity, with a use of a
would have a value to input in the formula:
computer, we were asked to open the file “01b
2𝑦
Graph Matching” and “01d Graph Matching” . t=√ 𝑦
Once opened, a graph for position versus time
and velocity versus time appeared on the screen, wherein, y is the measurement in the meter stick
which one member from the group had to (cm) and g being the force of gravity which is
imitate with the use of Logger Pro device as 9.8m/s².
seen in Figure 1.
 -
5
0
c
m Figure 2. A person moving toward a chosen point
Figure 2. Experimental setup for determination of
reaction time

4.Results and Discussion

In the first activity, the group tasked to

predict and sketch the displacement vs time and
velocity vs time of: a person moving away, a
person moving toward a chosen point and a
person moving away with increasing speed then
compare them to the results acquired from the
Logger Pro. The predicted graphs and the graphs
from the logger pro look alike, which means that
correct and accurate predictions of what the
graphs was made. Portrayed in figure 1 is the
person moving away in constant time, the
displacement spiked upwards while the time was
pretty much steady for the time being. Portrayed
in figure 2 is the person moving toward a chosen
point in constant time, the displacement spiked
downwards and the time was steady as well.
Portrayed in figure 3 is a person moving away in
increasing speed, the displacement spiked
upwards while the time went upwards little by
little.
Figure 3. A person moving away with increasing
speed
In the second activity, graph matching,
the group was tasked to replicate a given
displacement versus time graph and a velocity
versus time graph with the use of the logger pro
as well. This is shown in Figures 4 and 5 . The
group member assigned to replicate did not
move from his position for a short period of
time. This resulted into a horizontal line, which
indicates that the displacement was zero.Then,
moving away from the censor to obtain a line
with an increasing slope. The increasing slope
indicates that the displacement of the student is
increasing and lastly, by standing still again, a
horizontal line was obtained. When moving too
slow or too fast, the imitation of the graph would
be inaccurate and the graph won’t be followed
thus more trials and more time to was needed in
order to accomplish the task effectively.

Figure 1. Person moving away


Figure 4. O1b Graph Matching
Figure 5. O1d Graph Matching
In the third activity, the group was
tasked to measure the distance traveled by one
member of the group in a straight line for a
period of 10 seconds. The distance travelled per
second was recorded to be able to determine the
relationship of displacement and time. As shown
on Table 1 and Figure 7, there are four columns:
the first column shows the time(s), the second
column shows the total displacement (m), the
third column shows the average velocity (m/s)
and the fourth and last column shows the
instantaneous velocity (m/s). Based on Table1,
as the total displacement increases, the average
velocity decreases as well as the instantaneous
velocity.
The graph of the given is also shown in
figure 7. For every second, the member’s total
displacement was measured with a timer until
the tenth second. The average velocity was
determined by using the formula Average
𝛥𝑦
Velocity=𝑦𝑦 and the instantaneous velocity
using the formula Instantaneous Velocity= 2⊽
Table1 . Tabular values of total displacement,
average velocity, and instantaneous velocity
Figure 7. Line graph representing the total
displacement, average velocity and instantaneous
velocity
In the fourth and last activity, different
time reactions of each member of the group was
measured, which is shown in Table 2. Each
member did a conscious and unconscious time
reaction with another member who held the
meter stick. One student would hold the meter
stick at 50cm while the other student would
place his hand near the 0 cm mark of the meter
stick ready to catch the stick. The first part was
the conscious time reaction wherein the student
would be able to see the meter stick drop in front
of them. The second part was the unconscious
time reaction wherein the student wouldn’t be
able to see the stick drop, we let the students use
their phones for them to be distracted and
measure their unconscious time reactions. The
Student 1 has a conscious and an unconscious
reaction time of 1.3 seconds and 2.2 seconds
respectively, while student 2 has 1.3 second and
2.30 seconds. And finally student 3 has a
conscious and unconscious reaction time of 1.3
seconds and 2.02 seconds. We were able to get
2𝑦
the reaction time using the formula t=√ , y =
𝑦
measurement in meter stick (cm) and g =
gravity (9.8m/s²).

Student Reaction Reaction time
Time while
calling(s)
1 1.3s 2.2s
2 1.3s 2.30s
3 1.3s 2.02s
Table2. The reaction time of students while
focused and while being distracted
5. Conclusion
Based on the results of the experiment on
activities one to three, it can be concluded that
the increase and the decrease of a slope in the
displacement versus time graph depends on the
starting point of the person or object, while
velocity is constant. Moreover, when a person
moves at a uniformly accelerated motion,
wherein acceleration is not equal to zero
meaning velocity increases as time elapses, the
displacement increases exponentially when
graphed. Lastly, for activity four, it can be
concluded that reaction time varies from one
person to another and being distractioned greatly
affect one’s reaction time or mindfulness.
6. Application
6.1 Devise a way to determine the height of a
building using only a stopwatch.
To measure the height of a building
while using only a stopwatch, first go to the
rooftop and bring with you a stopwatch and an
object that you can drop for example a rock or a
coin. Second drop the coin and use the
stopwatch to measure the time and stop the timer
when the object hits the ground. The
acceleration of gravity is always at 9.8m/s². The
displacement equation that will be used is =
𝑦𝑦 + 𝑦𝑦𝑦 + 1/2𝑦𝑦² (9.8𝑦/𝑦²). Both the
initial displacement (𝑦𝑦) and initial velocity
(𝑦𝑦𝑦) will be cancelled out because both our
equal to 0 since there is no motion. So the
remaining equation that will be used is 1/
2𝑦𝑦² (9.8𝑦/𝑦²). The 𝑦𝑦² will be the
acceleration time measured by using the
stopwatch. By doing this you will be able to
measure the height of the building.
6.2 From the point of view of physics, is there
a basis to the law banning the use of cell
phone from driving?
Based on the experiments conducted the
students may be able to grasp the idea that the
law banning the usage of phones while driving
has a basis in physics. A person who is using his
or her phone may not be able to perform the task
on hand which is driving, this means that he
would not be able to concentrate on driving.
There would be a possibility that he won’t be
able to react in time in unforeseen circumstances
such as cars overtaking, pedestrians who are
jaywalking, those who do not know how to cross
the road or/and animals that cross the road.
6.3 Draw your displacement versus time
graph and velocity versus time graph from
your home on your way to UST and back.
Figure 8 and 9 shows a student’s graph of
displacement versus time and velocity versus time
from her home to UST and back with automobile
as mode of transportation
7. References

Kinematics. (n.d.). In Collins.com. Retrieved

from

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/en
glish/kinematics

Newton’s Law of Motion.(n.d.). In Encyclopedia

Britannica.com. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/science/Newtons-
laws-of-motion

Raqif, M. (2018, 09 05). Physics: Definition and

Branches. Retrieved from
https://owlcation.com/stem/Physics-Definition-
and-Branches.

Speed, Velocity and Acceleration. (2016).

Retrieved from
http://mocomi.com/speed-velocity-and-
acceleration/.