Newton's Laws Lab

Name: Nathan Cooper

Data Collection—Table 1:

Trial Force used (N) Time (s) Distance (m) Acceleration Mass (kg)
(fixed) (m/s2)
1 50 9.39 5.0 0.11 454
50 9.24 5.0 o.12 416
50 9.34 5.0 0.11 454
50 9.42 5.0 0.11 454

2 100 6.45 5.0 0.24 416

100 6.71 5.0 0.22 454
100 6.68 5.0 0.22 454
100 6.70 5.0 0.22 454

3 150 5.45 5.0 0.33 454

150 5.48 5.0 0.33 454
150 5.47 5.0 0.33 454
150 5.51 5.0 0.33 454

Analysis
1 2
1. Using the equation d= a t , the value of 5.0 m for the distance, and the time that you
2
recorded for wagon to reach the stop block, calculate the acceleration for each trial. Show your
work. Fill in Table 1 with your answers.

It’s done in Table 1.

2. Using Newton's second law of motion, calculate the mass of the cart for each trial. Show your
work. Fill in Table 1 with your answers.

It’s done in Table 1.

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Questions
Answer questions in complete sentences.

1. Compare the accelerations for the three trials. Explain how Newton's second law was
demonstrated in the simulation?

a. Trails 1. Force is 50 N and Acceleration is approximately 0.12 m/s^2.

b. Trails 2. Force is 100 N and Acceleration is approximately 0.22 m/s^2.
c. Trails 3. Force is 150 N and Acceleration is approximately 0.33 m/s^2.
It shows that as the applied (unbalanced) force increases, the acceleration produced in the body
also increases. Thus, the Force and Acceleration are directly proportional, as stated in Newton’s
2nd law.

2. Describe how Newton's first and third laws would apply to this situation if this simulation was
done in the real world.

a. Newton’s 1st Law. Once a High (unbalanced) Blue force has started dragging the wagon to
the left, now even if we add the equal force towards right (& both forces become balanced),
even then the Wagon keeps on moving to the left with constant speed, unless we increase
the unbalanced force to the right.
b. Newton’s 3rd Law. If Forces are made balanced and equal on opposite side, and the
competition commences, the Wagon doesn’t move on either side due to equal and opposite
forces.

3. Compare the masses that you calculated for the three trials. If the actual mass of the cart did
not change (same cart for all trials), what measurement do you believe contributed the largest
amount of error to that calculation? Explain your answer.

If the Mass remains constant throughout and Forces are fixed in values (e.g. 50 N, 100 N, 150 N
etc), the only factor most contributing towards the error is the Time since this is the only value we
need to measure, and which may introduce some un-certainty in measurement.

Unless Otherwise Noted All Content © 2022 Florida Virtual School. FlexPoint Education Cloud™ is a
trademark of Florida Virtual School.