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PHET Forces Introduction

1) Applying a force of 50N to the right caused the box to accelerate and increase in velocity over time according to the speedometer. 2) When the applied force was reduced to zero after 5 seconds, the box continued moving with decreasing velocity until it came to a stop. 3) Applying an equal force of 50N to the left caused the box to accelerate in the opposite direction. 4) To make the box stop, an equal opposing force must be applied to reduce its net force to zero.

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316 views

PHET Forces Introduction

1) Applying a force of 50N to the right caused the box to accelerate and increase in velocity over time according to the speedometer. 2) When the applied force was reduced to zero after 5 seconds, the box continued moving with decreasing velocity until it came to a stop. 3) Applying an equal force of 50N to the left caused the box to accelerate in the opposite direction. 4) To make the box stop, an equal opposing force must be applied to reduce its net force to zero.

Uploaded by

P
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to Newton’s Laws & Force! ! ! ! ! ! Name:_______________!

Physics!
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To Begin: http://phet.colorado.edu —> HTML 5 SIMs —> Forces and Motion Basics: Motion!
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Part I - Newton’s First Law!
Make sure the boxes that say “Force” and “Speed” are checked.!
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a. Apply a force of 50 N right to the box. Describe the motion of the box using physics terms (i.e. velocity,
acceleration, displacement). Refer to the speedometer in your answer. !
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b. Reset the scenario (don’t forget to check force, speed again). Apply a force of 50 N to the right for about 5
seconds then reduce the applied force to zero (the man should stop pushing). Don’t reset the scenario.
Describe the motion of the box. Refer to the speedometer in your answer. !
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c. Apply a force of 50N to the left. Describe the motion of the box. !
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d. Explain the exact steps needed to make the box come to a stop.!
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Summary !
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Newton’s First Law of Motion States “An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with
the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.” Explain how your
observations in a - d support this Law.!
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Part II - Newton’s Second Law!
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a. Reset the sim, don’t forget to check force, speed again. Remove the box and place a garbage can on top
of the skateboard. Using your partner’s iPad, measure the amount of time it takes to reach maximum
speed using a force of 50 N. Try this again with forces of 100N, and 200N. !
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Applied Force Time To Max Speed

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b. Reset the sim, don’t forget to check force, speed again. Remove the box and place a garbage can on top
of the skateboard. Using your partner’s iPad, measure the amount of time it takes to reach maximum speed.
Try this with a refrigerator, and a crate. Record your findings!
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Object Time To Max Speed

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Summary!
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Newton’s Second Law states “The acceleration of an object as produced by a net force is directly proportional
to the magnitude of the net force, in the same direction as the net force, and inversely proportional to the mass
of the object.” Explain how your observations in both a and b support this Law. !
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Part III - Friction’s Effects!
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The behavior of the skateboard in Part I and part II were not very realistic because friction was not present. At
the bottom of the screen is a simulation that includes friction. Select this simulation. !
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a. Set friction to “none”. Notice how the screen changed. Why do you think the app designers did that?!
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b. Make sure that only Speed box is checked. !
! i. Apply a force to get the box to about half of it’s maximum speed, then remove the force. !
! ii. While the box is moving, move the friction slider to 1/2 way.!
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What happened to the box?!
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Summary!
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Is friction a force? What evidence do you have have?!
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Part IV - Back to Newton’s Second Law!
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Reset the Friction app. Make sure Forces and Speed are checked. !
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a. Apply a force of 50 N. Describe the movement of the box. !
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b. Apply a force of 100 N. Describe the movement of the box. !
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c. Apply a force of 150 N. Describe the movement of the box. !
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d. Check the box that says “Sum of Forces” . Repeat procedure A, B, and C. What was different about c?!
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Summary!
Newton’s Second Law states “The acceleration of an object as produced by a net force is directly proportional
to the magnitude of the net force, in the same direction as the net force, and inversely proportional to the mass
of the object.” Explain how your observations relate to the underlined portion of this Law (hint, you might want
to look up the definition of the word “net”). !
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Part V: Friction in Detail!
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Reset the app. Check the boxes that say “values” and “speed”. !
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a) Apply 50 N of force to the crate, slowly click to increase the amount of applied force until you reach 350 N
of applied force. Describe how the force of friction changes while you are increasing the applied force. !
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b) Reset the app. Check the boxes that say “values” and “speed”. Slide friction to maximum (notice the
ground). Apply 50 N of force to the crate. Slowly click to increase the amount of applied force until you reach
350 N of applied force. Describe how the force of friction changes while you are increasing the applied force.!
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i. Describe how the force of friction changes while you are increasing the applied force.!
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ii. What was different about this compared to a?!
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c) Reset the app. Check the boxes that say “values” and “speed”. Place another crate on top of the first.
Apply 50 N of force to the crates, slowly click to increase the amount of applied force until you reach 350 N of
applied force. !
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i. Describe how the force of friction changes while you are increasing the applied force.!
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ii. What was different about this compared to a?!
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d) Reset the app. Check the boxes that say “values” and “speed”. Apply 200 N of force to the crate until the
speedometer reaches about 1/2 its maximum. Quickly change the applied force to zero and describe how the
force of friction changes until the box stops moving. !
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Summary!
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Make four general statements about the force of friction based on your observations in a, b, c, and d.

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