Scribd
Upload
38 views

Lab Report

This lab report describes an experiment investigating Newton's Second Law of Motion. Students measured the acceleration of a cart as different forces were applied using a pulley system and varying masses. By recording the position and time data of the cart, they calculated acceleration and analyzed the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. Their results showed a direct relationship between force and acceleration, supporting Newton's Second Law. Manipulating the mass also showed acceleration decreases as mass increases, consistent with the law.

Uploaded by

Marion Kones
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as RTF, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
38 views

Lab Report

This lab report describes an experiment investigating Newton's Second Law of Motion. Students measured the acceleration of a cart as different forces were applied using a pulley system and varying masses. By recording the position and time data of the cart, they calculated acceleration and analyzed the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. Their results showed a direct relationship between force and acceleration, supporting Newton's Second Law. Manipulating the mass also showed acceleration decreases as mass increases, consistent with the law.

Uploaded by

Marion Kones
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as RTF, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Lab Report on Newton's Second Law

Abstract:

The objective of this lab experiment was to investigate Newton's Second Law of Motion, which states
that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely
proportional to its mass. The experiment involved measuring the acceleration of a cart as different forces
were applied to it and analyzing the data to verify the relationship between force, mass, and
acceleration. By conducting multiple trials with varying forces and masses, we aimed to validate the
principles of Newton's Second Law.

Introduction:

Newton's Second Law of Motion is a fundamental principle in physics that describes the relationship
between force, mass, and acceleration. According to this law, when a net force is applied to an object, it
will accelerate in the direction of the force. The magnitude of this acceleration depends on the mass of
the object and the magnitude of the force applied. In this experiment, we investigated the relationship
between force, mass, and acceleration using a cart on a horizontal track.

Materials and Methods:

Horizontal track

Cart

Pulley system

Weights of different masses

Motion sensor

Computer with data acquisition software

Meter stick

Stopwatch

The experiment was conducted in the following steps:


Set up the horizontal track and place the cart at the starting position.

Attach the pulley system to the cart and position the motion sensor to detect the cart's position and
velocity.

Connect the motion sensor to the computer and calibrate it according to the manufacturer's
instructions.

Open the data acquisition software and set it to record the cart's position and time data.

Place a known mass on the cart and measure the total mass (including the cart).

Start the data acquisition and simultaneously release the cart from the starting position.

Allow the cart to move freely along the track while the motion sensor records its position and time data.

Stop the data acquisition once the cart reaches a predetermined distance.

Repeat the experiment with different masses by adding or removing weights from the cart.

Calculate the acceleration for each trial using the recorded data and the principles of kinematics.

Plot a graph of force against acceleration to analyze the relationship between the two variables.

Results:

For each trial, we recorded the position and time data collected by the motion sensor. Using this data,
we calculated the velocity and acceleration of the cart. We also measured the total mass of the cart and
added or removed weights to vary the applied force.

From the data collected, we plotted a graph of force against acceleration. We analyzed the graph to
determine if the relationship between force and acceleration was consistent with Newton's Second Law,
which states that the two variables are directly proportional.

Discussion:

Our results showed a direct relationship between force and acceleration, as evidenced by the linear
graph of force against acceleration. This finding supports Newton's Second Law, which states that the
acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it.

Furthermore, by manipulating the mass of the cart while keeping the force constant, we observed that
the acceleration decreased as the mass increased. This observation aligns with Newton's Second Law,
which states that acceleration is inversely proportional to mass.

Conclusion:

The experiment confirmed the principles of Newton's Second Law of Motion. Our results demonstrated
that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force applied to it and inversely
proportional to its mass. The linear relationship between force and acceleration validated the
fundamental concepts of Newton's Second Law.

This experiment provides a solid foundation for understanding the behavior of objects in response to
applied forces and emphasizes the importance of mass in determining the acceleration of an object.
Understanding Newton's Second Law is essential for analyzing and predicting the motion of objects in

You might also like