The causes of friction in this lab come from three different sources. One is the string sliding over the pulley wheel. Another is the pulley wheel turning on its axle. Also, the string sliding through the hole; all these cause friction in our experiment.
Glider on Frictionless Air Track Lab The acceleration of the glider can be calculated by tracking the speed as it passes through the two photogates. On the frictionless air track a glider is placed on one end of the model while a small weight weighing 50.0 grams dangles on the other end (both connected by a string that runs through a hole). The glider has two flags separated at 1.00 centimeters apart; these make it easier to take the speed of the glider …show more content…
The photogates are linked to a (insert clock thing here), which we click the button twice to obtain the speed of the glider at photogate one and photogate two. The air track that the glider sits on is connected to an air pump that raises the glider, therefore, making the experiment frictionless. First we turned on the air pump and made sure the weight at the other end was completely steady before releasing the glider (small movements could affect the speed calculations). When ready, we released the glider and clicked the button on the (insert thing) twice once the weight hit the ground. After receiving the speed we recorded it down on a chart with a column for photogate one and photogate two. We then had to put the set up back together: passing the sting steadily through the hole, making sure it doesn’t come off its axle and that the weight was steady. We repeated this five times then calculated the average of the five trials for each photogate. Continuing, we used the third kinematic equation of one dimensional motion (v22=v12+2aΔx) to calculate the acceleration (working out to be a=v22-v12/2Δx). We chose to use this equation because we only know the speed times, as well as, the difference in distance from photogate one to photogate two (Δx). The average speed recorded for photogate one is represented as v1