NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND

Applied Physics Lab 4

COMPUTER SCIENCES

TOPIC: NEWTON’S SECOND LAW

LAB TASK: PASCAR

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ABSTRACT:
In this experiment we were provided with a couple masses with weight range 25,
50 and 100 grams, a toy car weighing 250 grams and a track which had a pulley attached
to it using which the car was pulled downwards. We wanted to extract the time that the
cars took to reach the edge as we changed masses at the pulley end.

EXPERIMENT:
Since our basic goal was to extract the time taken for the car to reach the end with
different masses we ensured to take multiple readings. This resulted in us being more
sure of our results and ensured that our results were reliable and were free of anomalies.
Other than repeating the experiment multiple times we also changed the masses that were
at the pulley end, by removing masses from the car and then placing them at the pulley.
We were not allowed to change the total mass of the system hence what we did was to
remove the mass from the car and then place them at the pulley end, this kept the total
mass of the system constant.
Our basic mass on the system included a 250g car, 2 bars (placed on top of the car) each
weighing 250g. We had a pulley above which we attached masses which resulted in the
pulley gaining mass, however as mentioned above the total mass of the system was kept
constant.

THEORY:
The equipment was first arranged as mentioned in the lab manual and multiple
readings were taken. These readings were then noted down in the tables which are drawn
in the procedure. The experiment was also repeated twice as mentioned in the manual. For
each test we did we calculated the average time the car took to reach the end.

TOOLS:
The equipment used by us includes a track, a car, 2 bars each weighing 250g.
Other than the basic equipment mentioned above we also used a pulley through which we
passed a string attached to the car which had the bars on it, along with some other
masses. We also used some masses which were attached on the other side of the pulley to
pull the cart down, while some masses were placed on top of the cart.

MEAN:

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 Mean is, in other words, the average value. It is calculated by summing up N
different values, and then dividing that sum by N.
𝑥1+𝑥2+𝑥3+𝑥4…….+𝑥𝑛
Mean =
𝑛

In this case mean was needed when we wanted to calculate the average time for a
trial. We had five readings for each trial and we calculated the mean time (average time)
for each.

PROCEDURE:
The experiment, as I said earlier, involved accelerating a car through a track using
the mass of a pulley. Before taking measurements, we made sure that our stopwatch was
set to 0.0 seconds and that it was functioning fine, we also ensured to use a digital
stopwatch so that our time could be more accurate.

The idea of the order in which we had to do our experiment was taken from the lab
manual that was provided to us.

The steps in which we conducted our experiment are mentioned below.

1. We used local strings to attach the car to the pulley. Then we placed the car tires
on to the track and ensured they were levelled.
2. Then we installed the end stop on the track with the bars facing away from the
track. The masses of the bars and car was found from the table 7.1 in lab manual
of PASCAR.
3. We then attached the pulley and the end stop to the track, adjusted the pulley so
that the string ran parallel to the track. We ensured that the string was long enough
so that the cart reached the end stop before the mass hanger reached the floor.
4. Then we pulled the cart back until the mass hanger reached the pulley and
recorded the initial release position (which remained same throughout our
experiment).
5. We wanted to ensure that we have enough reaction time, so we made sure that the
total time for the car to reach the end is more than 2 seconds. Because if the
reaction time had been too short it had greater chances of causing an error.
6. Then we let the car go and recorded its time which is mentioned above.
7. We also measured the time taken 5 times with the same mass and recorded these
values in the table above. This was so that our result was more reliable.

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READINGS AND OBSERVATIONS:

Initial release position = 70 cm____

Final position = 5 cm_____
Distance traveled (d) = 65 cm____
Cart Hanging Time Average
Mass (kg) Mass Time

Trial Trial Trial Trial Trial

1 2 3 4 5
0.75 + 0.29 = 20g 2..40 2.41 2.42 2.37 2.41 2.402
1.05
0.75 + 0.30 = 30g 2.10 2.05 1.97 1.95 2.2 2.054
1.04

DATA ANALYSIS:
System mass = 1.07kg (conserved throughout the experiment)

Cart Acceleration (m/s2) [m1+m2]a (N) FNET = m2g . % age Difference.

Mass (kg)

0.75 + 0.29 = 1.04 0.173 0.1855 0.1962 5.45

0.75 + 0.30 = 1.05 0.237 0.2536 0.2943 13.83

Refer below for calculations for calculations.

CALCULATIONS

Acceleration (for Cart Mass 1.05 kg):

Hanging mass: 20g.

FNet = (20 / 1000) * 9.81 = 0.1962 N

s = ut + 0.5 a t2, whereby u (initial velocity = 0)

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 t = 2.246

s = 50cm = 0.5m.

We can use equation of motion since the distance traveled is small and there is a
constant force on the system (supplied by the hanging mass) hence the acceleration
can be deemed constant allowing us to use equations of motion to calculate
acceleration.

0.5 = 0 + 0.5 * a * 2.402 * 2.402

a = 0.5 / 2.885 = 0.173 m/s^2

( m1 + m2 ) = 1.07kg (The total mass of the system is constant)

(m1+ m2) g = 1.07 * 0.173 = 0.1855N

Percentage Difference = (FNET - [m1+m2] a) * 100 / FNET

= (0.1962 – 0.1855 ) * 100 / 0.1962

= (0.2943 – 0.2758 ) * 100 / 0.2943

= 5.45 %

Acceleration (for Cart Mass 1.04 kg):

Hanging mass: 30g.

FNet = (30 / 1000) * 9.81 = 0.2943 N

s = ut + 0.5 a t2, whereby u (initial velocity = 0)

t = 2.246

s = 50cm = 0.5m.

We can use equation of motion since the distance traveled is small and there is a
constant force on the system (supplied by the hanging mass) hence the acceleration

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can be deemed constant allowing us to use equations of motion to calculate
acceleration.

0.5 = 0 + 0.5 * a * 2.054 * 2.054

a = 0.5 / 2.109 = 0.237 m/s^2

( m1 + m2 ) = 1.07kg (The total mass of the system is constant)

(m1+ m2) g = 1.07 * 0.237 = 0.2536 N

Percentage Difference = (FNET - [m1+m2] a) * 100 / FNET

= (0.2943 – 0.2536 ) * 100 / 0.2943

= 13.83 %

QUESTIONS
This experiment is about the second law which is F = ma. Where m is the mass of the
system while a is the acceleration.
The lab manual asked us the following questions:
1. Did the results of this experiment verify that F = ma?
Yes, it does verify Newton’s second law F = ma. Experimental observations
back the claim since upon increasing the hanging mass (and reducing the car’s
mass), the car accelerates more This indicates that acceleration and force are
proportional.

For instance, when we increased the force (from 0.02N to 0.03N), the car’s
acceleration increases (from 0.173 to 0.237 m/s^2). Moreover, the percentage
error in our theoretical and calculated values of Net force is within 15% (max
difference concession for random errors) for both calculations. Hence the
experiment results were expected and in line with the Newton’s second law.

This proves that the equation F = ma is valid and it applies to our experiment.

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 2. Why must the mass in F = ma include the hanging mass as well as the mass
of the cart?
Since this is a stationary system, we must consider the mass of the total system.

CONCLUSION:
By performing the procedure above, we can conclude that the accuracy and precision of
the results of an experiment depend on a few things including, the person who’s
performing the experiment.

We also verified the law F = ma in this experiment by confirming how the acceleration
increased when the weight at the pulley end was increased.

The difference between theoretical and calculated values is due to random errors during
experiment. Moreover, some frictional forces also act on the system hence the
experimental value of Force was lesser than the theoretical value.

IMPROVEMENTS:
Some problems arose during the experiment that contribute to random errors in the
experiment. One major source of error was the one conducting the experiment since the
human reaction time is not catered for the car’s interval. To improve this we could set up
a laser system to start the timer when car passes on laser and end the timer when it passes
the other laser. This will allow for a far accurate time reading. We could also use slow-
motion cameras for the same purpose.

Use a marker to identify car’s position throughout the experiment and use that as a
reference point for the car in each pass of the experiment.

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