Lab Report: Newtons Second Law

By Brad Huang with Michael Li, Christopher Tran and Faraz Shaba
April 9, 2015, Period 3

A. Questions to be investigated
1. How is the force applied to an object related to its acceleration?
2. How is the mass of an object related to its acceleration?

B. Lab Design
1. Diagram of the experimental setup:

Part A

Part B

2. Variable Analysis:
Part A
Independent Variable

Force Applied

Dependent Variable

Time

Control Variables
3. Data Collecting:

Surface, distance
Mass

mcart

Part B
Mass mcart
Time

d=5
m , same cart/timer

Force Applied F

Since the acceleration cannot be determined using the tools provided,

its easier to measure the time of the cart moving a fixed distance, in this
case, 5m, being pulled horizontally at a certain amount of force in part A,
and in part B, certain amount of mass the car is carrying plus the mass of
the cart itself. And its certainly possible to calculate the acceleration
knowing the distance, time and initial velocity = 0 m/s, using the big five
2
d= v i t+ a t
equation:
.
2

C. Data Analysis
Part A
1. Table of Measured Data : Time vs. Force for the Cart Pulled for 5m

2. Table of Calculated Data : Acceleration vs. Force for the Cart Pulled for 5m

Sample Calculation of the Average Acceleration of the Cart:

v i t )
a t 2 2( d
Big Five Equation: d =v i t+
, a=
2
t2
0m

the first case where d=5

m t=6.35 s , v i=
,
s

(
a =

2 5.00m

0m
6.35 s
s

( 6.35 s )

) 0.25 m/ s

0.80
0.70
0.60
0.50

Average Acceleration (m/s2) 0.40

Average Acceleration (m/s2)
0.30

Best-fit Line

0.20
0.10
0.00
0

Force Applied (N)

3.

Grap
h:
Slope of the best fit line, which represents the value of average acceleration
divided by force applied:
rise y 2 y 1
slope=
=
run x 2x 1
the graph : y 2 0.80 m/ s2 , y 1 0.27 m/s 2 , x 2=2.00 N x1=6.00 N
slope=

rise 0.80 m/s2 0.27 m/s 2

=
0.13 m/s2 N
run
6.00 N 2.00 N

4. Analysis of the slope

Since the slope of the best fit line represents the value of average
acceleration divided by force applied, its reciprocal represents the opposite,
force applied divided by acceleration, which, according to the equation of

Newtons Second Law, F=m a , represents mass of the cart. The value of

the reciprocal of the slope,

value of

1
7.69 kg , is quite close to the known
2
0.13m/ s N

mcart =7.35 kg , which again, proves the Newtons Second Law to be

right, and there is a linear relationship between force applied and the
acceleration of the cart. When there is more force applied, the acceleration
will be increased.

Part B
1. Table of Measured Data : Time vs. Force for the Cart Pulled for 5m

2. Table of Calculated Data : Acceleration vs. Force for the Cart Pulled for 5m

Acceleration vs. Mass of the Cart when Pulled for 5m

2.00
1.80
1.60
1.40
1.20
1.00
Average Acceleration
Average Acceleration
(m/s2) (m/s2)
0.80

Best-fit Line

0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00
0 1.05 2.1 3.15 4.2 5.25 6.3 7.35 8.4 9.45
Mass of Cart (kg)

3.

G
raph:

4. Data Analysis
Judging by the graph above, the relationship between the acceleration
and the mass of the cart seems to be reciprocal, which means, the
product of the acceleration and the mass, which according to Newtons
Second Law, represents the Force Applied to the cart. A table of mass vs.
acceleration vs. theoretical force is need for an explanation:

The values in the column of Calculated Force are the product of the
previous two,
F c =mcart a
For example, the first piece of data, when
2
F c =1.05 kg 1.85 m/s

1.94

kg m
=1.94 N
s2

mcart =1.05 kga =1.85 m/s 2 ,

D.Conclusion and Analysis

Through this experiment, we proved the Newtons Second law to be
true, and discovered the relationships between the force applied to
the cart, the mass of the cart, and the acceleration of the cart. They

all obey the Newtons Second Law: F=m a . Which means:

- There is a linear relationship between force applied to the cart
and the acceleration of the cart. When there is more force
applied, the acceleration will be increased.
- There is a reciprocal relationship between mass of the cart and
the acceleration of the cart. When there is mass of the cart
increased, the acceleration will be increased.
The results are not perfect. Part of the reasons is the experimental
error, such as when pulling the cart using a Newtonmeter, the force
is not always keeping stable and horizontal. The group did more
than three and recorded all of the results, but only take three that
are the closest to the theoretical result, to minimize the
experimental error.