Phoebe James Mr.

Muller Period 5 1/22/13 Title- Constant Mass and Changing Force Hypothesis- I think that the car is going to increase in acceleration as you add more weights to the car. Purpose- To investigate how increasing the applied force affects the acceleration of a system. Procedure1. Fasten a pulley over the edge of a table. The pulley will change the direction of the force from a downward pull on the mass into a sideways pull on the cart. 2. Mark off a distance on the table top slightly shorter than the distance the mass can fall from the table to the floor. 3. Place the 1 kg, 50g, 100g, and 200g masses on the cart. The mass of the cart is 0.4kg. Add the mass of the chart to all the other masses to calculate the total mass of the cart. Record the mass. Masking tape may be required to hold the masses to the cart. 4. Attach one end of the string to the car, pass the other end of the string over the pulley, and tie a large paper clip to the end of the string. To offset frictional effects, ace just enough paper clips or other weights on the end of the string so that when the cart is moved by a small tap it rolls on the table with constant speed. Do not remove this counterweight. 5. For the first trial, remove the 50 g mass from the cart and hang it on the end of the string. 6. Release the cart and measure the time it takes to accelerate your cart toward the pulley. Catch the cart before it crashes into the pulley and spews your masses all over the floor. Repeat each trial at least two more times. Record your data and compute the average of your three trials in the data table. 7. Remove from the 50 g mass from the string and place it back on the cart. Take a 100 g mass from the cart and place it on the end of the string. Make several runs and record your data in the data table. 8. Repeat step 7 for 150, 200, and 250 g masses(increasing the mass of the falling weight by 50 grams each time). For some trials you will need to use two masses on the end of the string. Be sure to place each mass back on the cart after using it. Record your data in the data table. 9. Calculate the accelerations using a=2d/t2. Make a graph of acceleration (y axis) vs force (2-axis). Call the force caused by 50 g mass F and the force caused by the 100 g mass 2F. etc.

Table

Total mass=910kg Trial 2(s) 3.11 1.97 1.3 Trial 3(s) 2.68 1.86 1.4 Average Time(s) 2.9 1.9 1.3 Acceleration (m/s2) 4.28m/s2 9.97m/s2 21.30m/s2

Mass of the Trial 1(s) falling weight 50g 100g 150g Graph 2.92 1.88 1.27

Questions 1. Describe your graph of acceleration vs force. Do your data points produce a straight line graph or a curved graph? My data points produces a curved graph. 2. Does the acceleration of the cart increase or decrease as the force increases? The acceleration of the cart increases as the force increases 3. Was the mass of the accelerating system (cart + falling weight) the same in each case? The mass of the accelerating system is the same in each case because of the weight and force being applied to the cart. 4. The acceleration of the system increases as the force applied to it increases. What is the general relationship between mass, force, and acceleration? The general relationship is that Force= Mass x Acceleration.

Conclusion- In doing this experiment, the conclusion is that to get the force you have to multiply the mass and acceleration. I also learned that the acceleration will increase because of the increase of force that you apply.