Project by: Emma Diamond (11th Grade), Olivia DeTraglia (11th Grade)
Project Advisor: Kelly O’shea
Student(s)’s Advisor(s): Shauna Finn, Kelly O’shea

Description of the Project:

In this project, we researched the Cavendish experiment and eventually recreated it. We learned more about the original purpose of the Cavendish experiment (Gravitational Constant) and how to set up and perform a successful experiment.

Final Product (e.g., documents, images, video, audio, poster, display, etc.):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final Reflection on Learning:

Emma: Throughout this project I continued to learn how to effectively set up and collect data from an experiment. In addition, I was able to work on my problem solving skills. Throughout the project, there were many moments when I wasn’t sure how to proceed with the experiment. However, as the project went on, I was better able to find strategies to help myself better understand the instructions/materials and continue working.

Olivia: This project taught me a lot about the gravitational constant and how and why it was found in the first place. We ran into many problems when attempting this experiment and those taught me how to look at the steps and the equations differently in order to work around those problems. Working on this experiment also taught me a lot about how I work as a learner, and how doing these experiments and trying to problem-solve hands-on really helps me too better understand these concepts.

Update on Progress from Weeks 1-3 (include any photos or video if relevant):

These first few weeks of the trimester, we have started researching and learning about Cavendish, how the experiment works, and what it actually measures. We have also met at school, researched how to recreate the experiment, and begun putting the parts together so that, in the future, we will be able to start the experiment and take data.

Below is an image of us at school beginning to locate the parts of the experiment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update on Progress from Weeks 4-6 (include any photos or video if relevant):

The past few weeks of the trimester, we have continued our research on the experiment and have continued meeting at school. We have spent an extensive amount of time attempting the experiment. We have not yet been able to collect data, but we will continue this in the next few weeks.

Update on Progress from Weeks 7-9 (include any photos or video if relevant):

During weeks 7-9, we have continued to meet at school every week. We were previously struggling with centering the small balls, but we were recently able to figure this out and get the experiment fully set up to take data. We attempted to take data using the Acceleration Method, but it turned out to be incorrect. We used provided data and tried to solve for the Gravitational Constant in a different way than was shown, but our math was also incorrect. We tried to examine why our answers were incorrect, but were not ultimately able to get the right answer.

Below is an image of the experiment when it is set up: