Experiment ( 2)

UNIFORMLY ACCELERATED MOTION( air track with photo gates)

OBJECTIVES:
To measure the acceleration due to gravity, g.

APPARATUS:
 Air track system with one glider
 Photogate timer with Accessory Photogate
(or two Photogate Timers as shown in Fig.1)
 Block: to raise the air track to form an incline.
 Meter scale

Figure.1- air track system with one glider and

two photogate timers

THEORY
The distance, x, traveled in time t by an object moving in a straight line with constant
acceleration a is given by:
x= vo t + ½ a t2 (1)
Here vo is the initial speed of the object at time t= 0. For convenience we choose the initial
value of the distance to satisfy = 0. In the experiment we will release a glider of mass m
from rest on an air track inclined at an angle θ (See Figure.2). The "lubrication" provided by
the air flowing to the air track and under the glider provides nearly frictionless motion,
so to a very good approximation we may neglect the effects of friction. Thus the object is
accelerated only by gravity and hence its acceleration satisfies
a = g sin θ (2)

where g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.80 m/s2. (Prove this to yourself by drawing a
free-body diagram for the glider.) Note that the acceleration a is independent of the mass
of the object.

We will experimentally check the validity of equations (1) and (2) by fixing two" light
gates" along the air track at various fixed distances x apart, then use the forks(photogates)
and an electronic timer to very accurately measure the time taken to travel the distance x.
The method works as follows: when the glider passes the first gate, it interrupts a light
beam and starts the timer; when the glider passes the second gate, it again interrupts a
light beam but now stops the timer.
The timer then displays the time taken to travel the distance x between the gates.
PROCEDURE:
1. Level your air track as follows: turn on the blower, then adjust the elevation screw at
the air intake end of the track until the glider either remains stationary at the mid-point
of the track or moves slowly back and forth about this point; leave this setting fixed
for the duration of the experiment. Next, use the necessary block(s) under the intake
end screw to raise that end of the air track an amount h (whose value will be assigned
by the instructor).

Your instructor will also assign you an initial length value (which may be different for
different students.) Fix the first light fork (photogate#1) this distance from the higher
end of the air track.

IMPORTANT: Do not change this setting for the rest of the experiment

2.Now fix the second, lower light fork (photogate #2) a convenient distance, say,25 cm
from the upper light fork. Use a meter stick to accurately measure the distance between
the two light forks. This is your first value of x, that is x = 25 cm

Figure.1 Uniformly Accelerated Motion

3.Check that the timer is set to read timing II in “ms” (that is millisecond) and properly
reset to zero. Start the air blower for the air track while holding the glider gently at the
top of the air track. Release the glider; observe the timer start when the glider passes the
first light fork, then stop as it passes the second light fork. Repeat the measurement
several times (remember to zero the timer after each reading),entering your results in
table.1; and then average the resulting times.
 4.Repeat step 2, varying only the position of the lower light fork, such that x =50cm,
75 cm, 100 cm, 125 cm, and 150 cm. For each of these settings repeat step3 to obtain a
set of values of x and t.

DATA AND CALCUALTION:

Table 1
x (m) 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25

Time t1, t2, and t3

(s)
Average time t (s)

Average time squared

2
t2 (s )

1.Calcualte the average time, for the three trials of the time at each displacement. Record
the results in table1.
2. Calculate the square of each average time, for the each displacement. Record the
results in table1.
3.Using the x, t2 data, plot a straight line graph. Note that Equation (1) is not linear in t.
However, data sets which do not follow a linear relation may often be "forced" to do
so for analysis purposes (as you have studied in your first lab session, that is on
"Graphing"). Use the” best fit” line graph to obtain the experimental value for a.

4.Measure the track dimension L between the leveling screws and, using this value
together with the value of h, calculate sinθ=h/L. Substitute this value of sinθ and,
your experimental value for a in equation (2) to find your experimental value for g.
Calculate the percentage difference between your value of g and the accepted value,
9.80 m/s2.

5.Is this difference "reasonable", say, approximately 5% or less?

6.List the major sources of error in this experiment.

 Experiment (3)
Newton’s Second Law(ticker timer)
OBJECTIVES:
 To study the rectilinear motion of a body under constant force.
 To measure the acceleration of a cart produced by a given force( weight) and to
compare it with that calculated from Newton’s second law of motion.’
 To determine the mathematical relationship between mass and acceleration when the
force is kept constant.

APPARATUS:
 AC-Power supply  Ticker tape
 Ticker timer  Weights
 Threads  Trolley
 Cart  Pulley

THEORY:
In accordance with Newton’s first law of motion, when the resultant of all the forces
acting on a body is zero, if the body is at rest, it will remain at rest, and if it is in motion, it
will continue to move with constant speed in a straight line. Newton’s second law of
motion describes what happens if the resultant of all the forces is different from zero.
When a force or a net of forces 𝐹̅ net is acted on a body of mass m; the latter moves with
acceleration as long as the force acts. If the magnitude of the force 𝐹̅ net is kept constant,
the velocity is found to increase at constant rate. If the force is altered, the rate of change
of velocity alters in the same proportion. The relation which holds the net force 𝐹̅ net , the
mass m, and the acceleration 𝑎̅ is :

𝐹̅ net = 𝑚𝑎̅
(1)

In this experiment, it is left as an exercise to find the theoretical value of acceleration of a

cart moving under the influence of a falling masses.

PROCEDURE:
1.place a dynamic cart( trolley) on a smooth horizontal table with a thread attached to it
and passing over a smooth pulley as shown in Figure.1.
 Figure.1

2. With no load on the cart add a weight to the hanger as a driving force.
3. Connect the ticker with 1.5 Volts AC power supply, with the power off.
4. Cut a pieces of tape( about 1 m long), and pass it under the vibrator.
5. Connect a small heavy object with the tape by a thread.
6.Turn the power supply on, an allow the small heavy object to move dragging the tape through the
vibrator, as shown in Figure.1.
7. Obtain a tape for this accelerated motion as done , and write on this tape(1).
8. Record your data in the Table.1.
9. Load the a cart with several masses successively to obtain other tapes, and record your results in
table1.

Table .1

Weight on the cart(kg) Tape Number Acceleration( m/ s2)

No load
0.10
0.20
0.50

CALCULATIONS:
1.Selct a well-defined dot as a reference point several millimeter below the starting point.
Draw a circle around this point.
2. label the reference dot(0) on the tape, count down two more dots and label this dot(1).
Repeat this process down the tape until labeled dot (15) is reached. Note that each 2
successive dots is considered as a unit interval of time of 0.04 sec.
3. Measure the distances from the reference dot(0) to each of the labeled dots. These are
the distances S1,S2,…, Sn. The corresponding times are t1, t2, …tn. Enter these data into
Table.2.
4. For each tape, calculate the average velocities between two successive intervals and enter the results in
Table.2

Table.2
 Interval Time Interval Total Distance (cm) Average Velocity(
Mark (sec) cm/sec)
0 0.00 S0=
1 0.04 S1=
2 0.08 S2=
3 0.12 S3=
4 0.16 S4=
5 0.20 S5=
6 0.24 S6=
7 0.28 S7=
8 0.32 S8=
9 0.36 S9=
10 0.40 S10=
Graphs:
 Plot a average velocities versus mid points of the time intervals, and find the acceleration
from the graph, for each tape. Record the results in Table.1.
 Plot a graph of acceleration versus mass (i.e. distance versus mass). Draw the line of best
fit.
 State a relationship between acceleration and mass (for a given force).