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Experiment 1 Newtons 2nd Law Latest

The document outlines an experiment to investigate Newton's second law, focusing on the relationship between net force, mass, and acceleration. It describes the setup, procedure, and relevant equations, emphasizing the importance of unbalanced forces in causing acceleration. The experiment involves measuring the acceleration of a cart as different weights are added, with data recorded for analysis.

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mncwango.asanda.27.04
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14 views3 pages

Experiment 1 Newtons 2nd Law Latest

The document outlines an experiment to investigate Newton's second law, focusing on the relationship between net force, mass, and acceleration. It describes the setup, procedure, and relevant equations, emphasizing the importance of unbalanced forces in causing acceleration. The experiment involves measuring the acceleration of a cart as different weights are added, with data recorded for analysis.

Uploaded by

mncwango.asanda.27.04
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Experiment 1:

Part 1: Newton's second law


Essential question: How is an object’s acceleration related to the net force acting on the object?
When the forces acting on an object are unbalanced, the object accelerates. Newton’s second law
describes how an object’s acceleration is related to the amount of net force acting on it. In this
investigation, you will explore this relationship.

Background
Often, several forces act on an object simultaneously. In such cases, it is the net force or the vector sum
of all the forces acting, that is important. Newton's First Law of Motion states that if no net force acts
on an object, the velocity of the object remains unchanged. If the velocity is not changing, the object is
not accelerating. Newton's Second Law relates to the effect of unbalanced forces acting on an object. If
forces are unbalanced, there is a net force, and the object accelerates. Like Newton, you will observe a
simple system to look for a relationship between net force, mass, and acceleration. The components of
the system are shown in the diagram. The system consists of a cart attached by thread to a falling mass.
The falling mass applies the force of gravity to the thread which is then translated through thread tension
to the cart. Although the gravitational force on the cart is counteracted by the normal force from the
track, the applied force from the falling mass has no counteraction (assuming the frictional force in the
cart’s wheels is zero), resulting in a non-zero net force acting on the cart in the direction of the thread.

Relevant Equations
⃗⃗
∆𝑣
𝑎⃗ave= ∆𝑡
(1)

This equation states that the average acceleration of an object is equal to the change in the object’s
velocity ∆𝑣⃗ divided by the elapsed time ∆𝑡. f the object experiences constant acceleration (similar to
acceleration from gravity), the linear slope of the object’s velocity-time graph will equal the object’s
constant acceleration
|𝐹⃗ | = 𝑚𝑔 (2)
where 𝑚 is the amount of hanging mass in each trial and g is earth’s gravitational constant (𝑔 =
9.8 𝑚/𝑠 2 ).
Procedure

1. Open the 05A_NewtonsSecondLaw experiment file in your software, and then connect your Smart
Cart using Bluetooth.
2. Set up the equipment like the picture. Be sure the track is level.

3. In your software, zero the Smart Cart force sensor while nothing is touching the hook.
4. Pull the cart to the end of the track, or until the mass hanger hangs just below the pulley, and then
record data as you release the cart to roll freely down the track. Catch the cart before it hits the
pulley.
5. Record five trials of data using the same steps, adding one more washer to the mass hanger before
each trial: Trial 1 = 1 washer, Trial 2 = 2 washers, Trial 3 = 3 washers, and so on.
6. For each trial, find the cart’s acceleration (slope of velocity graph) and the average net force on the
cart (net force = force measured by the sensor) while it was rolling freely down the track (only while
it was rolling freely). Record your values in Table 1.

Table 1: Average net force and acceleration data of a cart


Trial Net Force (N) Acceleration (m/s2)
1
2
3
4
5
Questions

a. Sketch a copy of your net force versus acceleration graph. Be sure to label the axes.

b. How was the cart’s acceleration different when the applied net force was greater? Support your
answer with data.

c. What is the shape of your net force versus acceleration graph?

d. What is the slope of your net force versus acceleration curve? How does the slope value compare
to the total mass of the cart plus any mass on it?
e. There are two common mathematical expressions for Newton's Second Law. One of these
expressions is F = ma . How does your data support this mathematical relationship?

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