The purpose of this lab was to examine Newton 's second law by observing the relationship between force and acceleration in a friction-free environment and to illustrate the concept of mass. The experiment was conducted in such a way to reduce friction. In order to simulate this environment an air-cushioned track was set-up for the glider to ride on a pocket of air without being in contact with the metal track. In addition, this glider will have masses attached to it as well as a hanger which will act as part of the same system. The masses in this system will be exchanged between the glider and the hanger. In this case it will stimulate an added force by interchanging the masses; as a result increasing the acceleration. Moreover, …show more content…
Air-cushioned track Glider 8 Weights (5g each) Hanger String Pulley and clamps Vernier Lab Pro 2 Vernier photogates Mass holder for gliders
Observations
Mass of the cart: 221.0g.2210±5×10-5kg
Length of Cart: 16.2cm.162±5×10-4m
Table 1: Observations and Results for Newton’s Second Law
Trial mass (kg)±5*10-5 F(h) (N) l (m)±5*10-5 L (m)±5*10-5 t1 (s)±1*10-4 t2 (s)±1*10-4 v1 (s) v2 (s) a (m/s2)
1 0.0477 0.47 .162 .600 0.254 0.113 0.638 1.43 1.37
2 0.0477 0.47 .162 .600 0.25 0.113 0.648 1.43 1.36
3 0.0477 0.47 .162 .600 0.282 0.124 0.574 1.31 1.14
4 0.0377 0.37 .162 .600 0.281 0.126 0.577 1.29 1.10
5 0.0377 0.37 .162 .600 0.246 0.11 0.659 1.47 1.45
6 0.0377 0.37 .162 .600 0.32 0.139 0.506 1.17 0.918
7 0.0277 0.27 .162 .600 0.288 0.127 0.563 1.28 1.09
8 0.0277 0.27 .162 .600 0.332 0.148 0.488 1.09 0.800
9 0.0277 0.27 .162 .600 0.332 0.148 0.488 1.09 0.800
10 0.0177 0.17 .162 .600 0.417 0.182 0.388 0.890 0.534
11 0.0177 0.17 .162 .600 0.351 0.155 0.462 1.05 0.733
12 0.0177 0.17 .162 .600 0.349 0.155 0.464 1.05 0.731
13 0.0077 0.08 .162 .600 0.503 0.222 0.322 0.730 0.357
14 0.0077 0.08 .162 .600 0.645 0.294 0.251 0.551 0.200
15 0.0077 0.08 .162 .600 0.491 0.221 0.330 0.733 0.357
Mass of Hanger: …show more content…
According to Newton’s Second Law a=F/m. By rearranging this it can be written as a= 1/m F making 1/m the slope of the line and F the x value.
Discussion and Conclusion
Percent Error = (measured-actual)/actual×100%= (3.0443-3.722)/3.722×100%=-22.3%
Though the value of the slope that was obtained (3.722) was not exact to the actual value of the slope (3.0443), when conducting an experiment there will be inaccuracies that will arise caused by errors in the experiment. One source of error is that when we are calculating the acceleration of the system using l/t then using the formula vf2= vi2+2ad; this method is an indirect calculation of the acceleration resulting in slight inaccuracies in the end. Another source of error is that we assumed that there was no friction opposing the system. However, while moving there is drag that is opposing the movement of the system. This results in slower velocities of the glider and thus a lower acceleration. The way to avoid this is to conduct the experiment in a vacuum, by doing this all air resistance is eliminated from the system. There is also friction that is present in the axle of the pulley system as well as between the axle and the string that was used which additionally results in a slower acceleration