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Lab Report Newton's Second Law
Lab Report Newton's Second Law
I. ABSTRACT
proportional to the net force acting on that object and is inversely proportional to
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the object’s mass. The relationship between force, mass and acceleration can be
collecting force and acceleration data for a cart as it is moved back and forth;
comparing force vs. time and acceleration vs. time graphs; analyzing a graph of
force vs. acceleration; and determining the relationship between force, mass, and
measure the force and acceleration of a cart with two different masses moving
back and forth. The Vernier computer interface, and the Logger Pro software
were used to create force vs. time, acceleration vs. time, and force vs. acceleration
graphs. The force vs. time and the acceleration vs. time graphs for both trials
portrayed the same trend of sinusoidal correlation and were very similar in shape.
The maximum and minimum correspond at the same points in time. For Trial I
the force and acceleration were smaller than for Trial II, as the mass increased
during the second trial. When the force is a minimum, the acceleration is also a
minimum, and when the force is a maximum, the acceleration is also a maximum.
The graph of force vs. acceleration revealed a positive slope with a trend of direct
0.0255, and for Trial II it was calculated to be F = 1.1890a + 0.03647. The slope
for Trial II is larger, as an additional mass was added to the cart. The mass of the
cart does not change, which therefore means that the force and acceleration are
directly proportional, verifying Newton’s Second Law where the net force is
equal to the mass of the object times acceleration. The percent error for Trial I
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was of 2.38% and for Trial II was of 0.04%. The errors were insignificant, and the
II. INTRODUCTION
A. Objective:
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acceleration data for a cart as it moved back and forth.; to compare force
vs. time and acceleration vs. time graphs; to analyze a graph of force vs.
acceleration.
B. Theory:
force, in the same direction as the net force, and inversely proportional to
F net
the mass of the object”. It can be mathematically represented as: a=
m
F net=ma
directly proportional to the net force, Fnet, and inversely proportional to the
object’s mass, m, in which the net force is the vector sum of all the forces.
Therefore, the larger the force applied on an object, the larger its
acceleration.
represents the mass of the object. The greater the slope of the graph, the
greater the force needed to move the object, and consequently, the greater
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of the relationship between the net force on the cart, its acceleration, and
A. Equipment:
B. Procedure:
Trial I
1. The sensors and Logger Pro were set up for fata collection.
force could be applied to the hook, directed along the sensitive axis
of the sensor.
parallel to the direction that the cart would roll. Arrow was
oriented so that if you pulled on the Force Sensor, the cart would
5. The mass of the cart with the Force Sensor and Accelerometer
attached was found. The mass was recorded in the data table.
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7. The file “09 Newtons Second Law” was opened from the Physics
8. To zero the sensors, the cart was placed on the Dynamics Track on
a level surface. It was verified that the cart was not moving and
grasped the Force Sensor. It was clicked on Collect and the cart
was rolled back and forth along the track covering a distance of
about 10 cm. The motion was varied so that both small and large
forces were applied. Hands only touched the hook and not the
sensors or cart body. Force was only applied along the track so that
10. It was clicked on Examine, and the mouse was moved across the
force vs. time graph. To turn off Examine mode, it was clicked on
Examine, again.
To fit a straight line to the data, it was clicked on the graph, and
then clicked on Linear Fit. It was recorded the equation for the
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Trial II
13. It was added an extra mass to the cart. It was removed the
Accelerometer, attached the 0.5 kg mass to the cart, and then re-
attached the Accelerometer. The total mass of the cart, sensors, and
IV. DATA
Table 1 Trial I
Data table representing the values obtained from Trial I, for the mass of cart with
sensors, and the regression line for force vs. acceleration data.
Table 2 Trial II
Data table representing the values obtained from Trial II, for the mass of cart with
sensors and additional mass, and the regression line for the force vs. acceleration
data.
Trial I
Graph 1 - Force vs. Time, Acceleration vs. Time, and Force vs. Acceleration Graphs
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Graph represents force vs. time, acceleration vs. time, and force vs. time data of cart rolling back
Trial II
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Graph 2 - Force vs. Time, Acceleration vs. Time, and Force vs. Acceleration Graphs
Graph represents force vs. time, acceleration vs. time, and force vs. time data of cart rolling back
V. ANALYSIS
Force and acceleration data for a cart as it moved back and forth were collected,
as represented on Graphs 1 and 2. The force vs. time and the acceleration vs. time
graphs for both trials portrayed the same trend of sinusoidal correlation, or
pattern, and were also identical in shape and slopes. The maximum magnitudes
are not numerically exact, but the maxima and minima correspond at the same
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points in time, as the acceleration increased, so did the force. For Trial I the force
and acceleration were smaller than for Trial II, as the mass increased during the
second trial. When the force is a minimum, the acceleration is also a minimum,
and when the force is a maximum, the acceleration is also a maximum. The graph
correlation, in which its regression should give a straight line, where the slope is
equal to the mass of the object, m. Due to experimental error, the graph was not a
perfect straight line, but Logger Pro was used to obtain a line of best fit, and
therefore calculate the regression line for the force vs. acceleration data. For Trial
I, the regression line was calculated to be F = 0.6731a + 0.0255, and for Trial II it
additional mass was added to the cart. The mass of the cart does not change,
which therefore means that the force and acceleration are directly proportional,
verifying Newton’s Second Law where the net force is equal to the mass of the
B. Discussion of Error:
have been caused by the instruments not being properly calibrated. The room in
which the experiment was performed contained many different objects, including
Frictional force could have also been introduced unintentionally, decreasing the
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force for an accelerating object. The percentage error of the experimental value of
the slope or m for both trials, were calculated using the following equation:
In which mexperimental is the slope (mass) obtained from the force vs. acceleration
graphs for Trials I and II, and mtrue valueis the mass of the cart with sensors for trial
I, and the mass of cart with sensors and additional mass for Trial II.
The results obtained in Graph 1 and 2 for the slope, or m, were plugged in to the
equation above:
For Trial I
0.6731 ( kg )−0.6895(kg)
% error= × 100=2.38 %
0.6895(kg)
For Trial II
1.1890 ( kg )−1.1895(kg)
% error= ×100=0.04 %
1.1895( kg)
Therefore, the percent error for Trial I of the experiment was of 2.38%, and for
C. Conclusions:
The understanding of Newton’s Second Law allowed for the collection of force
and acceleration data for a cart as it moved back and forth, the comparison of
force vs. time and acceleration vs. time graphs, the analysis of a graph of force vs.
acceleration, and lastly the determination of the relationship between force, mass,
and acceleration. The force and acceleration data for a cart as it moved back and
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where the slope of the force vs. acceleration graph represented the mass of the
object. The force vs. time and the acceleration vs. time graphs portrayed a trend of
graph of force vs. acceleration revealed a positive slope with a trend of direct
0.0255 for Trial I, and F = 1.1890a + 0.03647 for Trial II. The slope or mass for
Trial II is larger, as an additional mass was added to the cart. The mass of the cart
does not change, which therefore means that the force and acceleration are
Second Law where F = ma. The percent error for Trial I was of 2.38% and for
Trial II was of 0.04%. The errors were insignificant, and the results can therefore
VI. APPENDICES
PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS
1. Apply a small amount of force to the ball by pushing the flat end of
the ruler against the ball. Maintain a constant bend in the ruler. You
may need a lot of clear space, and you may need to move with the
ruler. Does the ball move with constant speed? The ball does not move
constant force.
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2. Apply a larger force and keep a constant larger bend in the ruler.
Does the ball move with a constant speed? The ball does not move with
applied versus a large force? The difference is that when a small force is
applied, the acceleration will be smaller, and when a large force is applied,
ANALYSIS
1. Are the net force on an object and the acceleration of the object directly
Yes, the net force on an object and the acceleration of the object are directly
experimental data proves this to be correct as the force vs. acceleration graph
is linear.
2. What are the units of the slope of the force vs. acceleration graph?
Simplify the units of the slope to fundamental units (m, kg, s). The units
N
are Newtons per meter per second squared, m .
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s
3. For each trial, compare the slope of the regression line to the mass being
accelerated. What does the slope represent? In trial I, the slope of the
regression line is smaller, meaning it takes less force to accelerate the object.
In trial II, the slope is larger, meaning it takes more force to accelerate the
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object. The slope is the relationship between acceleration and force and
4. Write a general equation that related all three variables: force, mass, and
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VII. REFERENCES
Scientists and Engineers With Modern Physics, 4th ed., vol. 1, Pearson Education,
www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/forces-newtons-laws/newtons-laws-of-
motion/a/what-is-newtons-second-law.
www.physicsclassroom.com/class/newtlaws/Lesson-3/Newton-s-Second-Law.
isaacphysics.org/concepts/cp_newtonii.
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