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Phys130 Lab: Experiment 1: Acceleration

This lab experiment investigates uniformly accelerated motion down an inclined plane. Students will use photogates and an air track to measure the initial and final velocities of a cart accelerating down the inclined track under its own weight, both with and without additional weights. Using the kinematic equations and trigonometry, students can calculate the acceleration of the cart and compare it to the theoretical acceleration due to gravity down the incline. They analyze their results to determine the effect of added weights and calculate their experimental measurement of gravitational acceleration.

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66 views3 pages

Phys130 Lab: Experiment 1: Acceleration

This lab experiment investigates uniformly accelerated motion down an inclined plane. Students will use photogates and an air track to measure the initial and final velocities of a cart accelerating down the inclined track under its own weight, both with and without additional weights. Using the kinematic equations and trigonometry, students can calculate the acceleration of the cart and compare it to the theoretical acceleration due to gravity down the incline. They analyze their results to determine the effect of added weights and calculate their experimental measurement of gravitational acceleration.

Uploaded by

aliyah
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Phys130 Lab

Experiment 1: Acceleration
Equipment/Supply List

Access to Computer/Data Studio/Excel

Pasco Interface

Photogates

Air track/cart/weights for cart

Objectives

Learn about uniformly accelerated motion

Investigate acceleration down an inclined plane

Background
Objects that undergo uniform acceleration obey the equation of motion
= + ,

Eq. 1

where is the final speed, is the initial speed, is the acceleration, and is the elapsed
time. If the distance traveled is known (instead of the time ), then the relation is
2 = 2 + 2

Eq. 2

The equation above can be used to find the acceleration (of, say, a cart on an airtrack) if
one knows the initial and final speeds and the distance traveled.

Procedure
In this lab, you will accelerate a cart along an (almost) frictionless airtrack by inclining the
track at a small angle and letting the weight of the cart pull the cart down. You will make
some measurements by hand, and other measurements will be done automatically for
you on the computer. Both kinds of measurement are required for the calculations you
need to perform.

1. Level the air track by tightening/loosening screws and/or placing paper under one
end. The airtrack is level when the cart doesnt move too much when the air is
on.
2. Measure the height of a small object (slotted mass or book) and then place the
object under one end of the airtrack to incline the track at an angle.
3. Measure the distance between the supports of the airtrack.
4. Calculate the angle of inclination of the airtrack using the trigonometric identity
sin =

Eq. 3

5. Place two photogates above the air track so that a sliding cart can pass between
both, with approximately a meter between the gates.
6. Measure the distance between the gates.
7. Make sure the photogates are connected to digital channels 1 & 2 of the Pasco
Interface. Based on which way you have the airtrack tilted, you want the first gate
connected to Channel 1 and the second gate connected to Channel 2. Make sure
the Pasco Interface is turned on and connected to a computer via a USB
connection.
8. Open the Data Studio program and set up Velocity in Gate, Ch 1 and Velocity
in Gate, Ch 2 and display the data as Tables. Read Appendix B on how to set
up these three components.
9. To test the set-up, turn on the air and let the cart slide down the airtrack. The flag
on the cart should pass through both gates and trigger the red LED indicators
while inside the gate. Adjust the heights of the photogates if needed.
10. When you are ready, click Start. You can keep the program running until you
finish collecting all 10 sets of data.
11. With the air track on, place the cart uphill from the first photogate and let it slide
down the track. Dont give the cart any initial velocity!
12. After it passes through the second photogate, you can pick it up and return it to
the top of the slope to get more data.
13. With each pass, Table 1 should display a velocity in gate 1, and Table 2 should
display a velocity in gate 2. These represent and .
14. Get 10 sets of / .
15. Click Stop to stop recording data.
16. Copy (Ctrl-c) and paste the data from your two tables into Excel for data analysis.
17. Repeat the experiment with weights placed on either side of the cart.

Notes
1. You should have 20 pairs of velocities, 10 for the un-weighted cart and 10 for the
weighted cart. Use either Eq. 1 or Eq. 2 to calculate the acceleration for each of
the 20 passes. A column can be set up in Excel to repeat the same calculation
automatically.
2. Use Excels built-in function to find the average and the standard deviation of the
10 accelerations without weights. Do the same for the 10 accelerations with
weights.
3. How do these two average accelerations compare? Quantify your answer by
calculating the percent difference. What do you conclude about the presence of
weights on the cart?
4. Theoretically, the acceleration down an incline without friction should be
= sin

Eq. 4

Using your average acceleration and your value for , calculate your
experimental result for acceleration due to gravity ( ). How does your
compare with the accepted value = 9.8 m/s2 ? Find a percent error.
5. Write a formal lab report for this lab.

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