NAME PERIOD DATE

NEWTON’S SECOND LAW

Purpose
In this lab, a small mass, m, will be connected to the cart by a string. The string passes over a pulley at the table’s
edge so that the cart accelerates as the mass falls. Both the falling mass and the cart will have the same acceleration
(assuming the string is not elastic and without slack). The resulting acceleration of this system will be
experimentally determined and this value will be compared to the acceleration predicted by Newton’s second law.

Figure 1. Experiment setup.

Theory
The cart will be released from rest and allowed to accelerate over a distance, d. Using a stopwatch, you will
determine how long it takes, on average, for the cart to move through the distance. An experimental value for the
cart's acceleration, a, can be determined from:

2d
d = 12 at2 which leads to a =
t2

Assuming that the tabletop is level, Newton’s second law predicts that the acceleration of this system will be:

a=
Fnet
Mtotal
=( )
m
Mtotal
g

Materials and Equipment

• Cart • Balance
• Super Pulley with Clamp (ME-9448) • Block
• Mass and Hanger Set (ME-8979) • Paper Clips
• Stopwatch • String

PASCO 1
NEWTON’S SECOND LAW | STUDENT HANDOUT

Safety
Follow regular laboratory safety precautions.

Procedure
1. Set up the pulley, cart, and block as shown in Figure 1. Add the following masses to the accessory tray of the
cart: 5-g, 10-g, 20-g, 50-g, and two 100-g.
2. Level the table so that the cart has no tendency to drift or accelerate in either direction.
3. Tie one end of the string to the upper tie point on the cart. Drape the string over the pulley. Adjust the pulley so
that the string is level.
4. Adjust the length of the string so that the masses attached to the end of the string will not hit the floor before the
cart reaches the end of its run. Tie a loop in this end of the string.

NOTE: The cart's acceleration falls to zero when the falling mass hits the floor.

5. Hang enough paper clips onto the dangling loop in the string until the cart will move when barely nudged. This
small added mass will compensate for friction in the system and will be ignored in the calculations.
6. Measure the total mass of your system, Mtotal, (cart, masses, and string). Record the mass.
7. Pull the cart back to a clearly marked starting point. Determine the distance that the cart will move from the
starting point to the block. Record this distance.

NOTE: The total mass of the system will remain constant throughout the experiment.

8. Move a 5-gram mass from the tray of the cart to the hanging loop.
9. Release the cart without pushing or pulling it. Start the stopwatch at the instant the cart is released. Stop the
stopwatch at the instant the cart arrives at the block.

NOTE: To eliminate reaction time errors, it is best that the person who releases the cart also do the timing.

10. Determine the average time for the cart to move through the distance. Record the average in Table 1.
11. Repeat steps 9-10 for all of the masses in the data table.
12. Fill in the table using your data and the equations given in the Theory section.

Data Collection

d=

Mtotal =

2 PASCO
 NEWTON’S SECOND LAW | STUDENT HANDOUT

Table 1. Data collection

Trial m (g) tavg (s) aexp (cm/s2) ath (cm/s2) % dif

1 5

2 10

3 15

4 20

5 25

6 30

7 35

Questions and Analysis

1. Can you think of any systematic errors that would effect your results? Explain how each would skew your
results.

PASCO 3