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Introduction:
In
this
weeks
lab
we
will
be
studying
Newton’s
Second
Law
of
Motion,
the
net
force
of
a
body
is
equal
to
the
product
of
the
body’s
mass
and
to
its
acceleration.
Using
an
Air
Track
system
that
will
eliminate
almost
all
friction.
We
will
be
able
to
accurately
calculate
the
acceleration
of
an
object
with
an
applied
force
in
one
direction.
When
an
object
has
two
forces
applied
to
it
in
equal
and
opposite
directions
that
object
will
stay
at
rest
and
have
no
acceleration.
Net
Force
is
equal
to
the
product
of
the
mass
and
the
acceleration
of
a
body.
This
is
mathematically
shown
as
∑F=ma.
To
achieve
acceleration,
force
in
one
direction
must
be
greater
than
the
force
in
the
other.
To
perform
this
experiment
we
had
an
object
(m1)
attached
to
the
Air
Track
system
on
a
level
horizontal
surface,
and
this
object
was
attached
to
another
free
falling
object
(m2)
in
the
vertical
direction
by
a
string
and
pulley.
This
can
be
seen
below
in
Figure
one.
When
the
force
of
m2,
the
product
of
the
mass
and
the
acceleration
due
to
gravity
(9.8),
is
applied
to
m1
than
m1
will
accelerate.
We
can
assume
that
the
greater
the
force
of
m2,
the
greater
the
acceleration
of
m1.
The
force
being
applied
to
m1
is
shown
as
Tension
(T).
This
is
the
cause
of
the
acceleration
of
m1,
which
is
equal
to
the
mass
times
the
acceleration
of
m2
Mathematically
we
can
state
this
as
T=m2a.
Therefore
to
calculate
the
sum
of
the
net
forces
we
derive
m2a-‐T=m2a.
If
T=m2a
is
substituted
into
m2a-‐T=m2a
and
we
are
solving
for
acceleration
then
we
are
left
with
a=mg/(m1+m2)
and
T=[m2
x
m1/(m1+m2)]
g.
Figure
1
The
smart
pulley
we
used
measured
the
motion
of
the
glider
when
being
pulled
by
the
string.
Data
Studio
then
Graphed
the
changing
speed
of
the
glider
as
it
was
pulled
vs.
time.
Then
in
data
studio
we
took
the
slope
of
the
graphed
line
to
determine
the
acceleration
of
the
glider.
These
graphs
for
the
seven
different
trials
we
ran
can
be
seen
on
the
next
page.
Data
and
Analysis:
After
choosing
and
recording
the
masses
of
both
m1
and
m2
we
used
a=mg/(m1+m2)
to
calculate
the
theoretical
acceleration
of
m1.
This
is
represented
in
table
1.
Trial # M (kg) m (kg) a (m/s2) Theoretical
Then
we
would
take
the
Data
graphs
of
changing
speed
of
the
glider
and
found
the
slope
of
each
calculated
line.
This
would
give
us
our
experimental
acceleration.
The
table
below
shows
these
calculations
and
the
graphs
can
be
seen
above
in
the
Introduction.
a (m/s2)
After
computing
both
theoretical
and
experimental
acceleration
of
the
glider
we
computed
the
percent
error
of
our
calculations.
We
did
so
buy
using
the
equation
for
percent
error,
which
is:
a (m/s2) Total a (m/s2)
Mass %
Trial # M (kg) m (kg) Exper. mg (N) (kg) Theorectical Difference
This
table
shows
the
%
Difference
between
our
Experimental
and
Theoretical
accelerations
of
the
gliders.
Conclusion:
In
the
end
this
lab
was
designed
to
show
calculate
the
acceleration
of
an
object
with
an
applied
force
attached
to
it.
The
testing
was
quit
successful
with
an
average
of
3.4%
error
between
our
experimental
and
theoretical
acceleration.
After
calculating
and
recording
all
of
our
accelerations
we
have
noticed
that
our
Experimental
values
were
all
slightly
smaller
than
our
Theoretical
values.
This
is
because
although
we
are
using
an
Air
Track
to
eliminate
friction.
Friction
cannot
be
totally
eliminated.
Thus,
when
we
calculate
our
theoretical
we
are
taking
in
for
account
that
friction
does
not
exist.
Therefore
our
experimental
results
are
slightly
slower
due
that
small
amount
of
friction
on
the
Air
Track
slowing
them
down.
Also
there
are
some
other
factors
that
can
come
into
play
such
as
air
resistence.