Experiment 6: Newton’s Second Law

Part 2

Figure 6.1: Newton’s Second Law Setup

Figure 6.2: Note: String from cart to pulley must be

horizontal and aligned with the pulley.

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2 Experiment 6: Newton’s Second Law Part 2

EQUIPMENT

Low-Friction Cart
Pulley and String
Triple-Beam Balance
Digital Balance
Stopwatch
Meter Stick
Mass Hanger
(1) 10 g Mass
(2) 20 g Masses
(1) 50 g Mass
Paper Clips (small masses)
Plumb Bob
Wastebasket
Experiment 6: Newton’s Second Law Part 2 3

Advance Reading For part 2 of this experiment, the track will be on a 9.25
degree incline, which will introduce a new unbalanced
Text: Newton’s Second Law, acceleration, velocity, dis- force. The force of gravity acting on the cart to pull
placement, vectors. it back down the inclined will be opposed to the force
of gravity acting on the hanging mass. This opposing
Objective
force must be accounted for, the equation suitably al-
The objective of this lab is to explore and analyze the tered to do so, and the necessary adjustments made
relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. to overcome this force. You must show the derivation,
but the new equation will be:
Theory
mB · g − mA · g · sin Θ
According to Newton’s Second Law, the acceleration, a= (6.3)
mA + mB
�a , of a body is directly proportional to the vector sum
� applied to the body:
of the forces, ΣF, We will compare this calculated acceleration to the ac-
celeration obtained from the kinematic equations for
� = m�a
ΣF (6.1) constant acceleration.
where m is the mass of the body. In this experiment, acceleration will be found exper-
imentally tracking the cart’s motion across a set dis-
A force T (tension) will be applied to the cart, mA , tance. The time of travel will be carefully measured
by means of a string with an attached mass, mB . If using a stopwatch.
one can ignore the force of friction acting on the cart,
then if the unbalanced force acting on the system is Note that since the cart and mB are connected, their
increased while the mass of the accelerating system is acceleration, velocity, and distance traveled are equal
held constant, the acceleration of the system will in- at all times. Thus, the horizontal distance the cart
crease proportionately. travels, Δx, is equal to the vertical drop of the at-
tached mass, Δy.
This analysis assumes a frictionless environment.
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The added mass, mB , exerts a force equal to its weight x = x0 + v0x t + ax t2 (6.4)
on the cart/mass system. 2
When the cart is accelerating, deriving a of the cart is We now define calculated and measured accelerations
found with the following equation: as aT heo. and aM eas. :
mB · g aT heo. is determined by Eq 6.2;
a= (6.2) aM eas. is determined by Eq 6.3.
mA + mB
4 Prelab 6: Newton’s Second Law Part 2

Name:

1. State Newton’s First and Second Laws (qualitative explanations). (20 pts)

2. What are the two unbalanced forces we will account for in this experiment? (15 pts)

3. Assuming the cart (Mass A) has a mass of 1.5kg, what is the minimum necessary hanging mass in order for the
cart to accelerate up a 20◦ incline? Explain. Assume friction is negligible. (20 pts)

4. Complete the free-body diagrams for the two situations shown below. Draw to scale (i.e., your diagrams should
� = m�a = 0.0 N and ΣF
delineate between ΣF � = m�a > 0.0 N). (30 pts)

� = m�a = 0.0 N
Situation 1: ΣF � = m�a > 0.0 N
Situation 2: ΣF
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Name: Section: Date:

Worksheet - Exp 7: Newton’s Second Law Part 2

Objective: The objective of this lab is to explore the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. The
experiment will analyze the acceleration of a cart on an incline due to a mass attached by a string.

Theory: According to Newton’s Second Law, the ac- This experiment will examine the acceleration of a cart
celeration, �a , of a body is directly proportional to the on an inclined plane caused by an applied tension force.
vector sum of the forces, ΣF, � applied to the body: This is a variation of Atwood’s machine.
� = m�a
ΣF

1. Draw a force diagram for the system with the cart accelerating upward on the incline plane at and angle of 9.25◦ .
Include all forces on the cart and hanging mass. Force vectors should be approximately to scale. (30 points)

2. Using Newton’s Second Law, derive an equation for the acceleration of the system. (10 points)
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Procedure:
Part 1: Vary the applied force

Trial #1
3. Measure the mass of the cart using the triple beam balance (turning it upside down will keep it from rolling off).

4. Calculate the mass of the cart with the two 500g masses and two 20g masses on top. This is mA Record this in
the table below.

5. Calculate the minimum hanging mass necessary to cause mA to roll up the incline, round this up to the nearest
10 grams. This is mB for trial #1.

6. Use a stopwatch to measure the time it takes for mA to travel a distance Δx (or for mB to fall the same distance
Δy). Your data will be more accurate if Δx is as large as possible. Do not allow the cart to hit the pulley! Do
this 3 times and record the distance and average time in the table below.
7. Calculate the acceleration of the cart during this motion using the following equations and record both in the
table.

aT heo. = (mB · g − mA · g · sin Θ)/(mA + mB )

aM eas. = 2 · Δy/t2

Show work from step 7

mA mB aT heo. Δx = Δy Δtavg aM eas.

# (1 pt ea.) (2 pts ea.) (2 pts ea.) (1 pt ea.) (2 pts ea.) (2 pts ea.)

3
Include units of measurement.

Trial #2 Trial #3
8. Remove one of the 20g masses from the cart and place 10. Remove the remaining 20g mass from the cart and
it on the mass hanger. Record the new mA and mB place it on the mass hanger. Record the new mA and
in the table. mB in the table.
9. Repeat steps 6 and 7 for the altered system. 11. Repeat steps 6 and 7 for the altered system.
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Part 2: Graphing

Obtain data from the Vary the Applied Force section of the Newton’s Second Law worksheet. These may be
copied in the duplicate data table below, if necessary.

The entire cart/hanging mass system follows the same law, ΣF = ma. This means that plotting force vs.
acceleration yields a linear relationship (of the form y = mx).

12. Open Graphical Analysis. Graph force vs. aM eas. for the Varying Force trials (be sure to include (0,0)). Apply a
linear fit to the four data points. Print this graph. Be sure to label the axis and provide a title. (10 points)
13. Create a similar graph of force vs. aT heo. and print it as well. (10 points)
14. Staple both graphs to the datasheet.

15. Was each slope close to the mass (mA + mB ) of the system? What were some sources of uncertainty that could
cause them to be different? (10 pts)