Investigating Motion Flashcards
What does this experiment investigate?
This experiment investigates Newton’s second law which is: F=ma, meaning that the acceleration of an object is proportional to the resultant force of the object, and inversely proportional to the mass of the object.
What is the method for investigating motion?
1) Draw a series of lines on a bench, each 20cm apart, perpendicular to the edge of the bench.
2) Place a pulley on one side of the bench and a car on the other side.
3) Attach one end of the string to the car and the other end running across the pulley.
4) Attach the weight stand to the loose end of the string. Hold the weight of the pulley so that it doesn’t pull the car, but make sure the string is fully extended.
5) Then let go of the weight, this will cause the car to accelerate forward, and begin the timer. Stop the timer when the car reaches the pulley on the other side of the table.
6) The time the car passes each distance needs to be recorded.
7) Repeat the experiment twice more to get an average acceleration.
How do we investigate the effect of mass?
1) Add a 10g mass on top of the toy car.
2) Pull the car back to the starting line.
3) Release the car and time how long it takes for the car to travel across the bench.
4) Repeat by adding more 10g masses each time and timing the car each time.
How do we investigate the effect of force?
1) Add a 10g mass to the weight stand, holding it so it doesn’t pull the car.
2) Release the weight stand and time the car travelling across the bench.
3) Repeat by adding 10g masses to the weight stand each time and timing the car each time.
