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Determining The Gravitational Acceleration At The Earth 's Surface

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The gravitational acceleration depends on only the mass of the gravitating object M and the distance d from it. Notice that the mass of the falling object m has been cancelled out.” (http://www.astronomynotes.com)
“To calculate its average speed you divide the distance travelled by the time it takes to travel that distance. The speed is usually measured in kilometres per hours (km/h) or, in the case, metre per second (m/s).” (Science World 10, Macmillan – P. Stannard and K. Williamson)

Hypothesis:
That the acceleration for a falling object towards the surface of the Earth is said to be 9.8 m/s/s. This is justified by the research above.
Aim:
To determine the gravitational acceleration at the Earth’s surface by calculating the acceleration of an object as it is dropped from a surface towards the ground.
Variable:
Manipulated Variable: Time
Respondent Variable: Distance tape travelled
Controlled Variables:
Controlled Variable Method of Control
Height Experiment carried out at the same height
Width of ticker tape Same width of tape
Location Surface of the Earth and it fell through air
Clear Path There was nothing in the way of the object
Weight used to pull tape The weight was always the same

Procedure:
1) Cut a piece of ticker tape 1 meter long; make sure it fits your ticker timer.
2) Check that the carbon paper in the ticker timer is up the right way and that the ticker timer is in the right settings.
3) Plug in the ticker timer and test it on a small piece of

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