The above points were for general lab reports. Specifically, for the Galileo lab report:
Your abstract should mention what you actually did in your experiment. The terms falling, acceleration, and gravity are important. What were your actual results? What does theory say you should get?
Your introduction needs to use a primary source. You should mention Galileo and his historical role in what you are about to present. You may mention other historical figures. You should define velocity and acceleration. You should explain the equation for the Law of Falling Bodies and provide a derivation of that equation. You should explain the connections between inertia, Newton’s 1st Law, gravity, weight, Newton’s 2nd law, and why g is constant for all objects.
Your procedure needs to provide explicit details of the experiment and how it was performed. Do not present results. Make sure you have annotated or explained diagrams, photos, or sketches.
Your analysis needs to have a data table with an explanation. You should have a graph of the position data with a best quadratic fit. There must be an equation and an explanation of the graph. You should be able to show your calculation of g from that graph, and an error comparison to published values. You should explain possible sources of error.
Your conclusion should recap the big ideas (acceleration and gravity) you showed. You should recap the procedure, results, and errors (briefly). You should have proposals for future work.
Your appendix should include the bibliography (with primary sources), tables, graphs, pictures, sample calculations, etc.
1…Aristotle Physica Mugar Q151 .A7 F29 Q151.A8 B65 1998 Q151.A7 F69
2. Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, by Newton
Three Laws or Axioms PDF p 89 (p83 of the book)
Newton’s Law of Gravitation PDF p 224 Section XII (Propositions 70-84) (p 218 of the book)
PDF p 400 Proposition 6 to 8 Book 3 p 394-398
3rd Law and Collisions PDF p98 Scholium
3rd Law and Attraction PDF p98 Scholium
Galileo Project http://galileo.rice.edu/index.html
3. On motion, and On mechanics; comprising De motu (ca. 1590) translated with introduction and notes by I. E. Drabkin, and Le meccanniche (ca. 1600) translated with introduction and notes by Stillman Drake QC123 .F60
4. Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems by Galileo Mugar QB41 .F67
http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/year-text-Galileo.html
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/galileo/dialogue.html
http://archimedes.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/cgi-bin/toc/toc.cgi?step=thumb&dir=galil_syste_065_en_1661
5. Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences by Galileo Galilei. Mugar QC123 .G13 1974
Introduction has historical time line of Galileo’s work in the early 1600s.
3rd and 4th Day
197 Naturally Accelerated Motion
205 Postulate on speed vs height
209-210 Law of Falling Bodies Note it uses Geometry as opposed to algebra
213 Inclined Plane experiment
274 Idea of parabolic paths of projectiles (inertia)
275 Air Resistance
276-7 Concept of Uniform Acceleration
286 Acceleration g is the same everywhere on Earth
6. AJP Article on the exact correction to Galileo’s free fall law Only the first two pages
Secondary Source: Hewitt Conceptual Physics P 50 Derivation of Law of Falling Bodies P65 Explanation of acceleration and g