12/1: PASCO Newton's 2nd Law Lab: Tuesday, October 27, 2020 6:45 AM
12/1: PASCO Newton's 2nd Law Lab: Tuesday, October 27, 2020 6:45 AM
12/1: PASCO Newton's 2nd Law Lab: Tuesday, October 27, 2020 6:45 AM
Objective:
*to observe the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration using data collected from a smart cart
Materials:
1 smart cart with hook attachment (connected to built-in force sensor), 1 piece of string, 1 textbook
1 hanger (a weight to pull the cart), 2 masses, dynamics track
The final part of the lab will look at the relationship between mass and acceleration as the mass of the smart cart will be
manipulated and the resulting acceleration can be viewed on a graph.
4. Observe the pattern of the data on the graph. Take a screenshot of the graph and place it in the space labeled
"Graph 1" below.
QUESTIONS:
a. GRAPH 1:
b. What is the general shape of Graph 1? (mostly straight line, curved line, zig-zag)
The general shape of Graph 1 is a straight line
c. What does the shape of the graph indicate about the relationship between the force and the acceleration?
There is a direct relationship between force and acceleration, they have a positive constant slope.
5. Click the linear fit tool (see icon to right) for the data you just collected.
a. What is the slope value? (labeled "m" in the box on the graph)
0.196
b. Considering this is a force vs. acceleration graph, and remembering that slope is m=Δy/Δx and that this is a
Newton's Second Law lab, what characteristic about the cart does the value from 5a represent?
The mass of the cart
6. Mass your smart cart using the balance at the front of the room.
b. How does the actual mass of the smart cart compare to the slope of the data? (from question 5a)
The actual mass is greater than the slope of the data. They are similar numbers.
Part three
.
1. Tie a loop in one end of a one meter length of string. Attach the notch of the 50g mass hanger to the loop. Tie a
loop on the other end of the string and attach the loop to the hook of the Smart Cart. Put the smart cart onto the
track, making sure its wheels are in the grooves. Hang the mass hanger over the edge of the table place a book at
the end of the track and adjust the length of the string so the mass is just above the floor when the cart strikes the
book. (see picture and video directly below it)
Watch a video of Mr. Pazinko completing this part of the lab by clicking on this link:
https://ebnet.instructuremedia.com/embed/491043ce-d0f2-4be0-a09c-cb39b2d4b4cf
CONCLUSIONS
1. As force exerted on the car increases, what happens to the acceleration?
The acceleration increases as force is exerted on the cart.
2. What type of relationship do force and acceleration have? ( direct / inverse / no relationship)
Direct relationship
3. How does the double y-axis graph in part 2 support your answer to question #2?
In the part 2 graph as the force increases the acceleration increases as well, shown in the graph as all the
pints for force go on the same line as acceleration.
4. What can be said about the acceleration of the cart while it was being pulled by the mass hanger?
The acceleration increased and was greater when no mass was on the cart.
5. A. How did the acceleration change when one mass was added?
The acceleration decreased compared to the acceleration of the cart when there was no mass.
B. How did the acceleration change when two masses were added?
The acceleration decreased even more when two massed were added as it increased the mass of the cart.
Mass and acceleration have an inverse relationship which is why they decreased as mass increased.
C. Explain you answers to “A” and “B”. Why did that happen?
Acceleration and mass have a indirect relationship so as the mass increased the acceleration decreases.
6. If force is held constant, what relationship can be seen between mass and acceleration?
7. A student follows the procedure for part 3 but accidentally adds 4 masses to the smart cart for the last run instead of
2 masses. What would you expect that student’s graph to look like in comparison to the rest of the classes' graphs
(assuming they all followed directions)? Why?
The bar would be lower than the part two graph indicating a smaller acceleration compared to the
acceleration when there were 2 masses since more mass indicates a smaller acceleration.