11-5-08

__ The Concepts of Force and Motion Are Studied in Mr. Manning’s Physics Class __ ! On November 5, 2008, students in Mr. Manning’s Physics class finished the Force and Motion Lab and then discussed key concepts related to the lab after Aura Tremellen spilled Welch’s Grape Juice on her new shirt. In the lab, the students used a Force Sensor to measure the tension in a string attached to a cart. This tension gave a force reading. A motion detector was used to plot a VT Graph so the acceleration of the cart could be found. These values were then used in a Force/Acceleration Graph. This graph was found to be linear and looked roughly like this: During a class discussion, it was determined that the slope of this line tells us the total mass of the cart used in the lab. The m/s/s of the acceleration canceled out with the m/s/s of Newtons. (A Newton is equal to kg x m/s/s) This leaves kg which is a unit of mass. The Y-intercept was found to be the friction force that causes the cart to remain momentarily stationary. That is, the y- intercept tells us how much force is needed to cause the cart to begin to accelerate. Lastly, from the equation Force = Mass x Acceleration + Friction, students were asked to move the friction to the left side of the equation. By doing this, the Newtons are grouped together and from this we can attain the Net Force. Σ (NET FORCE)