Cart Lab

2 Pages 388 Words

Cart Lab

Hypothesis-
The more weight exerted on the string the faster the cart will accelerate.

Procedure-

· Place tracks on table
· Attach string to cart and put cart on tracks
· Set up pulleys so that string extends over the end of the table and hangs down
· On the end of the string hanging over the table, place 20 grams of mass on string and 2490 grams on the cart.
· Place motion detector on track to read motion of cart.
· Allow cart to slide down track. Sliding will be caused by the gravitational pull exerted on the hanging mass.
· The motion detector will then record the speed of the cart.
· Record the Data and repeat with different masses while still keeping the same total mass on the system.
Liggett
Conclusion-
My hypothesis was proven correct. The more weight on the hanging end of the string, the greater the net force, making the cart move faster. The lighter the hanging mass, the slower the cart moved. The acceleration, no matter the weight of the hanging mass, cannot exceed 9.8 meters per second per second because the force acting upon it is gravity. The force that makes the hanging mass not go 9.8 meters per second per second is the cart. We need a big Net Force and a small mass to have maximum acceleration. The force acting upon the system is the force of gravity. So the force on the system is the mass of the hanging weight times the acceleration of gravity (9.8meters per second per second). The pulley transfers this force to a horizontal force on the cart. Therefore, the acceleration of the cart is the force divided by the mass of the cart. As the mass of the hanging weight decreases the force decreases and the mass of the cart increases, so with a lesser force and a greater mass of the cart, the acceleration of the cart decreases.
Error Analysis-
Many errors were presented in this project, among these was friction, inexact motion readings, and imperfect mass. The track was not friction...