STUDENT GUIDE Laboratory Investigation (continued)

Name = Jaixen Thorne Date: 12/11/24

Activity 3: Newton's Second Law

Materials
Background
Isaac Newton, a visionary 17th-century British pioneer in astronomy, optics,
Hall's car table clamp physics, and mathematics, formulated three laws of motion. Newton's first law
pulley 1.5-m length states that the motion of an object remains unchanged unless acted upon by an
of string small unbalanced force. Inertia is the property of matter to resist change to its motion.
washers, 9 large Newton's second law states that the net force acting on an object results in the
object's accelerating (changing either velocity or direction or both) in the
washers, 6 scissors
direction of the force. Newton's third law states that when a force is exerted on
masking tape, 10 cm an object, the object exerts a reaction force equal in magnitude to the force acting
1 or 2 books to stop on it but in the opposite direction.
the In this experiment, you will investigate the relationship between mass,
acceleration, and force by using a system composed of a wheeled cart, a
stopwatch or string, and a suspended mass that allows the force of gravity to act on the
timer meterstick system. By carefully examining and analyzing data, you should be able to
metric ruler develop a mathematical model that describes the relationship between the
paper clip weigh three quantities.
boat balance
Procedure
1. Collect the materials listed and clear a section of a smooth, level table at least 60 cm above the floor.
Safety 2. Attach the clamp pulley to the end of the table.

Adhere to safe laboratory

3. To make a stop for the cart, either place two books close together on the
table near the clamp pulley, one on each side of the string, or place a thinner
practices when performing
book directly under the string at the pulley. Either way, ensure that the
any activity in the
classroom or lab. Maintain book(s) used as a stop not come in contact with the string or interfere in any
control of your lab way with the string's movement.
materials and watch where 4. Remove the rubber stopper and spring from a cart. Use caution when
you step during these removing the spring, as it can decompress quickly and possibly cause
laboratory activities. These
labs utilize many small
pieces as well as wheeled
carts that may present a
falling hazard if they are
dropped to the floor.
injury.

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Laboratory Investigation (continued) STUDENT GUIDE

5. Tie a string to the cart through the hole where the rubber stopper was
attached.
6. Place the cart on the table so the front edge rests against the stopping
books.
7. Thread the string over the pulley and down to the floor.
8. Bend a paper clip to make a hook to suspend the weights.
9. Cut the string near the floor and tie its end to the paper clip. When the
front edge of the cart rests against the books and the string is threaded
over the pulley, the paper clip and the weights will be suspended just
above the floor.
10. Roll the cart backward on the table away from the books and pulley,
until the paper clip is just below, but not touching, the pulley. Place a
piece of tape in front of the front edge of the cart. Label this tape as the
start point, or d = 0.
11. Place a second piece of tape on the table, across the path of the cart and
even with the stopping books. Label this tape as the end point.
12. Measure the distance from the start point to the end point. Convert the measure from centimeters to
meters and record the value in Data Table 3.
13. While holding the cart in place at the start point, add six large washers and five small washers to the
cart, and add four small washers to the paper clip on the end of the string.
14. Using a balance, measure the combined mass of the cart with all the weights, the string, and the paper
clip with its weights. This is the mass of the entire system, and this mass will remain constant during the
experiment. Record the mass in Data Table 3. Be sure to convert mass measures to kilograms in this
activity.
15. Position the front of the cart at the start point and suspend the paper clip with the initial four small
weights over the pulley.
16. Release the system and allow the suspended mass to fall. If the system does not move, transfer one of
the smaller weights from the cart to the paper clip hook.
17. Once you have successfully set up the system with the initial conditions that allow the suspended mass
to accelerate the cart, weigh the paper clip with the small weights. Record the mass in Data Table 3.
18. Set up the cart, string, and suspended mass system again, so that the mass on the paper clip is suspended
from the pulley and the cart is immediately behind the start point. The string should be taut, with no
slack.
 STUDENT GUIDE Laboratory Investigation (continued)
19. Set the stopwatch to zero.
20. Release the cart and simultaneously start the stopwatch. Stop the watch when the cart reaches the finish
line.
21. Record the time in Data Table 3.
22. Repeat steps 18—20 two times for a total of three trials. Record the times for the three in Data Table 3.
23. Move one of the small washers from the cart to the paper clip.
24. Reset the cart to the start position, ready the stopwatch, and release the system. Record the time between
the system's start and stop.
25. Repeat step 24 two times for a total of three trials. Record the times.
26. Repeat steps 23—25 two times (i.e., three trials with an additional small washer moved from the cart to
the clip, and three trials with another additional small washer moved from the cart to the clip).

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Stop and Think

Why is it important for the mass of the system to remain constant?

27. Using the values you have recorded for time, complete the information in Data Table 3.
28. Calculate the average time of the three trials for each iteration of the experiment.
29. Calculate the square of each of the average times.
30. Calculate the acceleration of the system by using the following kinematics equation,
1

2
where d is the distance that the cart moved from the start point to the end point, e is the square of the
time for the cart to move from the start point to the end point, and a is the acceleration of the system.
Rearranging the preceding equation for acceleration gives the following:
2d

As the mass that is suspended over the pulley increases, the weight (the force accelerating the system) increases;
therefore, the acceleration of the system increases.
31. Calculate the force (F) accelerating the cart by multiplying the mass of the suspended washers and the paper clip
by the acceleration due to gravity (g = 9.8 m/s2).
Note: Mass is the amount of matter in an object. Weight is the force of gravity on an object, which is provided in
newtons, N:
weight =force due to gravity = mg

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 32. Construct a graph of force accelerating the system (the weight of the suspended mass in each trial) vs. the
acceleration of the system.

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Laboratory Investigation (continued) STUDENT GUIDE

Data Table 3: Force and Acceleration with Cart System

Mass of entire system:
Suspended Weight of Time (s) Average Average Distance 2 x Distance Acceleration =
Mass (kg) Suspended Mass Time (s) Time 2 (m) 2d/t2 (m/s2)
(mass x 9.8 m/s2), (s2)
Newtons (N)
0.026kg 0.25N Trial 1 — 1.26s 3.91s 15.3s .64m 1.28m 0.08 m/s^2
Trial 2 - 1.59s
Trial 3- 1.06s
0.032kg 0.31N Trial 1 — 1.53s 4.15s 17.2s .64m 1.28m 0.07 m/s^2
Trial 2 = 1.13s
Trial 3= 1.49s
0.038kg 0.29N Trial 1- .93s 1.61s 2.59s .64m .57m 0.44 m/s^2
Trial 2 – 1.21s
Trial 3 – 1.49s
 STUDENT GUIDE Laboratory Investigation (continued)

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Activity 3 Analysis and Assessment

1. What is the slope of the line in the graph that you just created? What does the slope indicate; i.e., what does it
measure?

The slope of the line in the graph is linear.

2. What was the difference between the value for the quantity you determined using the graph and the value for that
quantity as measured directly.
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3. What could account for the difference between the two values?

4. Can you write an equation for the line that you just graphed? What does the equation indicate about the
relationship between force and acceleration?

5. How could you achieve a more accurate result?

6. How did the experimental design of the investigation lead to the mathematical model of the system?

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