Texas A&M University at Qatar Science Program

PHYS218 (Experiment 4)
NEWTONS SECOND LAW CONSTANT FORCE (Activity P08)
1. Goal:
The object of this experiment is to study Newtons Second Law, i.e., the relationship
between force and acceleration.
2. Equipment:
Computer, Science Workshop Interface, track system, motion sensor, force sensor,
dynamics cart, mass and hanger set, string, super pulley with clamp, balance.
3. Theory:
Newton discovered the relationship between acceleration, force, and mass. The
acceleration of an object a is directly proportional to and in the same direction as the net force
Fnet, and inversely proportional to the mass of the object m:

This relationship is known as Newtons Second Law of motion.

Applying Newtons Second Law to the setup used in this experiment for an object accelerated by
the weight of a hanging mass and neglecting friction, the acceleration of the object and hanging
mass can be written as:
=

In this experiment we will therefore test whether Newtons Second Law indeed holds in this
case.
4. Procedure:
(1) Connect the plugs of the Motion Sensor to Digital Channels 1 and 2 on the interface.
Connect the yellow plug to Digital Channel 1 and the other plug to Digital Channel 2.
(2) Connect the plug of the Force Sensor to Analog Channel A.
(3) Turn on the interface and open Data Studio program and the file entitled P08 Constant
Force.
(4) The Scope display will show a Force table and a graph of Velocity versus Time.
(5) Attach a pulley to the right end of the Dynamics Track. Place the Motion Sensor at the
other end of the track.
(6) Carefully measure and record the total mass of the cart and force sensor in the lab report
section.
(7) Mount the force sensor onto the accessory tray of the cart using the thumbscrew, and then
place the cart on the Dynamics Track so the hook end of the force sensor points away
from the Motion Sensor. The cart will be pulled away from the sensor. The cart must
remain at a minimum distance from the motion sensor of at least about 15 cm.
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(8) Use a string that is 10 cm longer than the length needed to reach the floor when the cart is
next to the pulley. Attach one end to the force sensors hook.
(9) Add 20 or 30 grams of mass to the mass hanger (the mass of the hanger is 5 grams).
(10) Attach the mass hanger to the other end of the string, and put the string in the pulleys
groove. Adjust the height of the pulley so the string is parallel to the Dynamics Track.
(11) To fasten the string to the mass hanger, wrap the string four of five turns around the
notched area of the mass hanger.
(12) Pull the cart toward the end of the Dynamics Track where the motion sensor is placed,
but keep the cart at least the minimum distance from the Motion Sensor. Do not let the
mass hanger bump into the pulley. (Check figure 1)

Fig. 1 Experimental setup

(13) Prior to each data run, support the hanging mass so that the string is not pulling on the
force sensor. Push the tare button on the force sensor to zero the force sensor.
(14) Begin measuring data by clicking on START and then release the cart.
(15) Stop data recording before the cart reaches the pulley.
(16) Stop the cart before it collides with the pulley.
(17) Click and drag the cursor to draw a rectangle around the region of the velocity vs. time
plot that shows the movement of the cart. (The area will be highlighted).
(18) Select the linear curve fit to find the acceleration of the cart and record it in the Data
Table in the Lab report section.
(19) Drag the data of velocity versus time to table and record the values of 10 points in the
table in the lab report.
(20) Using Excel and the Least Squares method calculate the value of the acceleration.
(21) Using the measured mass values, calculate and record the theoretical acceleration of the
system.
(22) Drag run # 1 (force) in the data window (upper left corner) to Graph in the Displays
window (lower left corner) to get the graph of force versus time.
(23) Use the statistics tool to find the average (mean) force from the force versus time graph
and record it in the Data Table.
(24) Drag the same run to table and record the values of time and force for 10 points.

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(25) Using the measured mass value, calculate and record the force exerted on the cart and
force sensor. Record the result in the Data Table.
(26) Print out the graphs of velocity and force versus time with the analyses and attach them
to the Lab Report.

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