Name: Cassie, Alexandra, Stella, Angela

Date: 10/20 Period: 2nd

Physics- Newton’s Second Law

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between acceleration, force, and mass.

Materials: Dynamics track and cart, pulley, string, washers, stopwatch

NOTE: You need to make reference to the notes or lab on RELATIONSHIPS!

PART 1 – ACCELERATION AND FORCE

1. Set up your equipment as shown in the

diagram below.
2. Be sure your string is just long enough so
that the hanging mass just touches the floor.
3. Measure and record the displacement
your cart will travel for EACH trial.
3. Measure and record the mass of a few
washers and then place them on the hanging hook.
4. Pull the cart all the way to the end of the track.
5. Measure and record the time it takes for the cart to accelerate to the end of the track.
6. Repeat #5 3 times to get an average time.
7. Repeat the procedure 5 times by adding more mass each time.
8. Convert the mass into WEIGHT. This will be your FORCE.

9. Use the kinematic, x = vot + 1/2at2, to determine your ACCELERATION.

Show the work for 1 trial below.

Data Table- Part 1

Displacement________70cm________

Avg.
Mass Weight Time1 Time2 Time3 Acceleration
Time
0.01055 kg 0.1055 kg 2.82 2.85 2.87 2.85 18.26
0.01683 kg 0.1683 kg 2.70 2.54 2.32 2.52 23.31
0.02311 kg 0.2311 kg 1.85 2.02 1.82 1.90 41.14
0.02939 kg 0.2939 kg 1.50 1.25 1.52 1.42 73.05
0.03567 kg 0.3567 kg 1.21 1.28 1.32 1.27 91.76

10. Using graphical analysis, construct a Force (Y-axis) vs. Acceleration (x-axis) graph
In the square to the left, sketch the graph you get.

What kind of relationship is this? A direct relationship

Write a proportionality based on these results? F=MA (The higher the force the higher
the acceleration)

What remained CONSTANT in this experiment besides the displacement? The

weight of the cart, the length of the string, the height of the string above the
ground, the materials being used (like the cart and the track)

What CHANGED in this experiment besides the time? The weight being added
to the string

Fill in the appropriate words for the following statement:

“The acceleration is directly proportional to the force , when the mass/displacement

is constant.”

PART 2 – ACCELERATION AND MASS

 1. Use the largest mass from part 1 and all your data from that particular trial for
trial 1 here in part 2. The mass of the cart for this trial is 0.500 kg.
2. Keeping the hanging mass constant, add a little mass to the cart and time how
long it takes to travel the length of the track. Do 3 time trials to get an average
time.
3. Repeat the above procedure except add more mass to the cart each time.

Data Table – Part 2

Mass of Cart Time 1 Time 2 Time 3 Average time Acceleration

0.500 kg 1.21 1.28 1.32 1.27 91.76
0.50626 kg 1.48 1.18 1.17 1.28 90.80
0.51256 kg 1.22 1.03 1.10 1.12 118.69
0.51884 kg 1.06 1.04 0.95 1.02 143.19
0.52512 kg 1.08 0.98 0.95 1.00 147

4. Using graphical analysis, construct a MASS (Y-axis) vs. Acceleration (x-axis) graph

In the square to the left, sketch the graph you get.

What kind of relationship is this? An inverse relationship

Write a proportionality based on these results? The more mass an object has, the
more force that is needed for it to accelerate.
 What remained CONSTANT in this experiment besides the displacement? The
amount of mass that was pulling on the string.

What CHANGED in this experiment besides the time? The mass of the cart

Fill in the appropriate words for the following statement:

“The acceleration is inversely proportional to the mass, when the force is constant.”

Using the relationships you experimentally determined in BOTH parts as well as

what was constant in EACH case, DERIVE an equation for an OBJECT that is
ACCELERATING.

Fill in the statement below:

The acceleration is ________________proportional to the ____________

and _____________ proportional to the _____________.

In the box below, draw a free body diagram for the hanging mass

In what direction did the hanging mass move? The hanging mass
moved down
What do you do to two vectors that oppose each other? You subtract the weaker
force from the stronger force to get a final force.

Do the vectors in your picture oppose each other? Yes

Which force in the picture is larger? How do you know? The gravitational force
(weight) is larger because weight is equal to 10 x the mass of the object, so that
would mean the weight vector is 10 times longer than the tension vector.

Subtract the two forces in such a way that you will get a POSITIVE number and
show the expression below.

W(weight) - T (tension)= Net force

The expression you just made is called the NET FORCE and the NET FORCE is
represented in the equation you derived in the experiment. Insert your net force
expression into your equation and show the complete expression below. DO NOT
USE ANY NUMBERS, only letters!

Using the data from trial 5 of part one, you should have enough data to insert into
the equation above and SOLVE for the TENSION. Solve for the tension in the
string.

In the box below, draw the free body diagram for the cart. Assume the track is
frictionless.
 In what direction did the cart move? In the direction that the
tension force was acting on it

In the direction that the car moves, how many vectors are there? One

Do you have to subtract or add any vectors together? Yes, you have to subtract the
Normal force (R) and the Weight (W)

Since this is the ONLY force in the direction of motion, it is the NET FORCE. Do
you know the value of this force? Why or why not?

Yes, we know the value of this force because we know the mass of the object at the
end of the string and the acceleration of the cart.

If you know the value of this force and the acceleration, what can you find?

The actual mass of the cart is 0.500 kg. Determine a percent error between the
experimental mass and the actual mass.
Experimental − Actual
% error = x100
Actual