Constant Velocity vs. Constant Acceleration Lab.

The purpose of this lab was to teach us about acceleration, specifically about how acceleration looks first-hand.  The difference between constant velocity and constant acceleration is that velocity is closely related to speed, in that if an object has constant velocity it must have constant speed, because velocity is a combination of speed and direction.  Constant acceleration means that the objects speed is constantly increasing, moving faster and faster, even though the rate of acceleration doesn't change.  In this lab my group placed an iron marble on the counter and then rolled it along the counter.  I marked the passage of the marble with chalk every half a second.  Then we rolled the same marble along a ramp and marked it with chalk again.  In this lab, I learned the differences between speed, acceleration and velocity.  For constant acceleration use the formula V= at, and for constant velocity use the formula V= d/t.  The lines in a graph for constant acceleration looks like an exponential increase, while the line for constant velocity looks more like a strait forward line of best fit.  I used the equation of the graph to prove the formulas that we use are indeed correct (because y=mx+b is the same as distance=slope times half of the acceleration squared).  I learned how to find the equation of a graph, I learned how to apply that to physics, and I learned the difference between constant acceleration and constant velocity.