Equations

Constant acceleration in one dimension

The Galileo experiment revolves around the plotting and evaluation of a couple of equations that describe motion with constant acceleration in one dimension.

A graph of position versus time is described by:   x = x₀ + v₀t + ½at²

A graph of velocity versus time is described by:   v = v₀ + at

Displacement, velocity and acceleration are calculated from

Dx = x_f - x_i     Dv = Dx/Dt      a = Dv/Dt

with Dt taken to the limit of 0 for a particular point in time.