Download Pre-lab on forces

BAM! NEWTON’S 2ND LAW OF MOTION LAB
Research Question: How does mass affect the force of a car?
Research: Using Prentice Hall Physical Science p.351 answer the following
questions in complete sentences restating the main idea.
1. What is Newton’s second law?
Newton’s second law of motion is…
2. In relation to Newton’s Law, how is acceleration measured? How is
mass measured? Acceleration is measured by… and mass is measured
by…
3. How is force measured according to Newton’s second Law?
Force is measured by…
4. If the mass is 15kg and acceleration is 22m/s2, what is the total
force? (put proper abbreviation after your answer.)
The FORCE = …
5. If the mass of a car is 22g, what is the amount in kg?
(remember the metric scale K H
D
b
deci
centi milli)
Hypothesis: IF the mass of the car increases as it runs down the same
ramp, THEN the force calculated for each trial will _?_
Materials:
Scale
Textbooks
Cars
Meter Stick
Stopwatch
Whiteboards
Pennies/weights
Ruler
Procedure:
1. Measure the mass of the car, convert to kilograms. Record in data
table.
2. Measure the length of the ramp in cm; convert to meters. Record
data.
3. Run car down ramp, record number of seconds (to the hundredth) it
takes to hit the wall. Do 3 trials. Record data
4. Find average speed, distance divided by time. Record in data table.
5. Take final velocity, subtract initial velocity and divide by average
TIME to get acceleration.
6. To find FORCE, multiply mass by acceleration.
7. Repeat adding 2 coins, then 4 coins to the mass of the car.
**LEAVE A PAGE IN YOUR LAB NOTEBOOKS FOR THE DATA TABLES**
Analysis & Conclusion:
1. How does the mass of the car affect the force at which it hits the wall?
2. Do you see any relationship between the mass of the car and its velocity?
(If mass increases, does velocity increase?)
3. If a semi-truck and a Honda Civic were to hit a block wall going at the
same velocity, which would hit the wall with a greater force? Use
Newton’s 2nd Law to answer this.
4. Find the net force that it would take to accelerate an 800kg car at a
rate of 5 m/s2.
5. Find the net force acting on a 15kg puck accelerating at a rate of
12m/s2.
6.
Error analysis 3 places where errors could have occurred
Future Research How can you slightly change this experiment to test
something else?