Newton’s Second Law of Motion

Caitlin Strong
Sarah Stump
10.04.13

In this lab, we used a cart, track, motion detector, washers and a weight to experiment
with Newton’s Second Law of Motion. We observed the acceleration of the cart in three
trials, with each trial having more applied force, via the washers, pulling the cart. Each
trial had a higher acceleration than the last, showing that the applied force is directly
proportional to the acceleration of an object, meaning that if the applied force doubles,
the acceleration also doubles. In the second part, a weight was added to the cart,
doubling its mass. The data in this section of the lab shows that mass and acceleration
have an inverse relationship, meaning that if the mass is doubled, the acceleration of
the object is 1/2 of what it was before.
Procedure:

To begin the experiment, we brought the above diagram to life on a flat surface,
but only after the cart and a washer were weighed individually. The motion detector and
the cart were then placed on a track with a pulley at the end. A piece of string was
attached to the cart and placed over the pulley. The washers were put on the other end
of the string once we began data collection. The motion detector was attached to a
laptop via a LabPro and the LoggerPro application helped us collect our data.
For the first trial, we attached one washer to the end of the string that was over
the pulley and held the cart about 15cm away from the motion detector. After starting
the data collection on the laptop, we released the cart. LoggerPro graphed the
information for us and using a linear regression line, we determined the acceleration of
the cart. We did this for a total of three trials, each time adding another washer to the
end of the string.

Next, we doubled the mass of the cart by setting a weight on it. The experiment
was then conducted in the same manner as before with one washer, then two, and so
on. We did a linear regression on our results and found the acceleration of the cart for
each trial.

Results:
Graph 1.1: Acceleration of the Cart With Changing Force
In this graph, the red line shows trial one, the blue shows trial two, and the green shows
trial three.

Table 1.1: Acceleration of the Cart With Changing Force

Mass of Cart (g) Mass of One Number of Acceleration
Washer (g) Washers (m/s/s)
1 498.4 19.6 1 .28
2 498.4 19.6 2 .56
3 498.4 19.6 3 .78

Graph 1.2: Acceleration of the Cart With Doubled Mass

In this graph, the red line depicts the data for trial three, the blue shows trial two, and
the green shows trial one.

Table 1.2: Acceleration of the Cart With Doubled Mass

Mass of Mass of Mass of One Number of Acceleration
Cart (g) Weight (g) Washer (g) Washers (m/s/s)
1 498.4 507.4 19.6 1 .33
2 498.4 507.4 19.6 2 .29
3 498.4 507.4 19.6 3 .40

Table 1.3: The Force (Parts One and Two)

Trial One Trial Two Trial Three
Applied Force (N) 190 380 580

The applied force from the washers is calculated by the equation: Fg = ma . When you
substitute the mass of one washer (19.6g) in for “m” and the acceleration due to gravity
(because the washers are falling from the table via the pulley), 9.8m/s/s, in for “a”, we
are able to calculate the applied force for trial one in both parts:
Fg = ma
Fg = (19.6g)(9.8m / s 2 )
Fg = 190N

Table 1.4: The Ideal/Predicted Acceleration (Parts One and Two)

Acceleration (m/s/s)
Part One Trial One .37
Trial Two .70
Trial Three 1.0
Part Two Trial One .18
Trial Two .36
Trial Three .54

The predicted acceleration in the table above was calculated using the equation:
F = ma . If you substitute “m” for the total mass being accelerated by the force in trial
one of part one, m = 498.4g +19.6g , and substitute “F” for the applied force in trial one,
then by rearranging the equation you would be able to calculate the predicted
acceleration for trial one part one:
F = ma
190N = (518g)(a)
190N
=a
518g
.37m / s 2 = a
Discussion:
Velocity graphs 1.1 and 1.2 show that the cart is not moving at a constant
velocity. If this were true, we would see a horizontal line. The graphs have positive and
moderately linear data on them, showing that the cart is accelerating at a constant rate.
Since the applied force is pulling the cart in a positive direction (also shown on graphs
1.1 and 1.2), the acceleration is also positive. This means that the cart is speeding up.
In this lab, we experimented with force, mass, and acceleration (Newton’s
Second Law of Motion). In part one, each trial had a different applied force. In part one,
trial one, the acceleration of the cart was .28m/s/s and the applied force was 190N. In
trial three of part one, the acceleration was .56m/s/s, with an applied force of 580N. The
data implies that the more force applied on an object, the faster the object will
accelerate. In part two, the doubled mass of the cart required more applied force to get
it moving as fast as it did in part two. Mass and acceleration have an inverse
relationship. If the mass goes up, the acceleration goes down. This is shown in the data
collected for this section of the lab. When the mass of the cart was doubled, in trial one,
its acceleration should have been one half of what it was in trial one of part one. The
results relate to Newton’s Law because the data we collected in the experiment showed
the same relationships with each other as they would in Newton’s Second Law.
The results for part one and most of part two are a little off from the predicted
results and this is due to friction and the possible unevenness off the track/ table/ room.
In part two, trial one (in table 1.2), the acceleration of the cart is higher than the
acceleration in part two, trial two. It is unclear why this occurred, but the acceleration of
part two, trial one should have been around .18m/s/s.

Bibliography:

Hewitt, P. G. (1987). Newton's second law of motion. In P. G. Hewitt (Illustrator),

Conceptual physics (pp. 37-48). Addison-Westly.