We carried out a lab to determine the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. In this lab we used the motion sensors, carts, and masses to depict the relationship between the force pulling the cart and the mass of the cart.
The Goals for the Lab were:
Find the relationship between force and acceleration when there is a constant mass.
Find the relationship between acceleration and mass when there is a constant force.
Materials We Used
A plastic cart, string, pulley, weights, and motion sensor were the main materials used in this lab.
this is one of the sets of weights that was used.
Set-Up
This lab was set up using the length of the lab stations. The motion sensor was placed on one side of the table and a pulley clamped to the other side. A string was attached to the front of the plasic car and fed into the pulley. We attached a weight to the other side of the string. The car was lined up with the motion sensor and the weight allowed to pull the car. The acceleration was determine by finding the slope of a velocity vs time graph as generated by the computer from the motion sensor. The motion sensor made the acceleration value easy to obtain compared to the ticker tape method that was used to determine the acceleration due to gravity.
This was how the pulley was set up. The weight at the end of the string pulled the cart. As the weights changed, so did the acceleration.
Changing the Force
For the first part of the lab, we changed the force pulling the cart. As the force increased, the acceleration increased allowing us to see a direct relationship as given by Newton's second law.
Changing the Mass
We changed the mass of the cart during the second part of the experiment. The force pulling the cart was kept constant. This relationship was inverse. As the mass increased, the acceleration decreased.
Each lab group made a graph of force vs time for constant mass and acceleration vs mass for constant force. They verified Newton's second law by showing the relationships from these graphs.
We carried out a lab to determine the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. In this lab we used the motion sensors, carts, and masses to depict the relationship between the force pulling the cart and the mass of the cart.
The Goals for the Lab were:
Materials We Used
A plastic cart, string, pulley, weights, and motion sensor were the main materials used in this lab.
Set-Up
This lab was set up using the length of the lab stations. The motion sensor was placed on one side of the table and a pulley clamped to the other side. A string was attached to the front of the plasic car and fed into the pulley. We attached a weight to the other side of the string. The car was lined up with the motion sensor and the weight allowed to pull the car. The acceleration was determine by finding the slope of a velocity vs time graph as generated by the computer from the motion sensor. The motion sensor made the acceleration value easy to obtain compared to the ticker tape method that was used to determine the acceleration due to gravity.
Changing the Force
For the first part of the lab, we changed the force pulling the cart. As the force increased, the acceleration increased allowing us to see a direct relationship as given by Newton's second law.
Changing the Mass
We changed the mass of the cart during the second part of the experiment. The force pulling the cart was kept constant. This relationship was inverse. As the mass increased, the acceleration decreased.
Each lab group made a graph of force vs time for constant mass and acceleration vs mass for constant force. They verified Newton's second law by showing the relationships from these graphs.