PHYSICS 1301W LABORATORY REPORT

Laboratory I

Name and ID#: Mason Trang

Date performed: September 24, 2009 Day/Time section meets: Thursdays 2:30-4:25PM
Lab Partners’ Names: Bill Liu
Joe Beau
Problem # and Title: Problem 5, Mass and Motion Down and Incline
Lab Instructor’s Initials:

Title
 Mass and Motion Down and Incline
September 24, 2009
Performed by: Mason Trang, Bill Liu, and Joe Beau
TA Name: Yan Yin

Statement of the Problem

The problem was to determine if a change in mass affects an object’s acceleration down an
inclined plane. We released two carts of different mass down a ramp with zero initial velocity.
Low friction carts were used to provide an experiment with negligible friction. The setup of the
inclined plane remained constant throughout the experiment.

We used the provided equipment to record and a video of the motion down the incline for each
cart. We then used computer software to help us analyze the motion of the cart down the ramp.

Prediction
We predicted that the mass of the cart has no effect on the cart’s acceleration. After the carts
were released, the only force acting upon them is the force of gravity. The constant, g, is the
acceleration due to gravity. Since g remains constant, we predict that increased mass will not
have an effect on the carts’ downward acceleration. The force of gravity will cause a constant
downward acceleration of the cart that is unaffected by mass.

Due to the fact that the cart is on an inclined plane, we cannot simply use the vertical force of
gravity to solve for acceleration. We can find the acceleration of the carts due to gravity by
trigonometrically calculating it.

To find the acceleration of the carts, we use the following equations and figures:

Based on our lab setup predicted acceleration due to gravity on the cart down the incline was
1.36m/s2. More importantly, we predict the acceleration of both carts to be equal.
Experiment and Results
The inclined plane was setup at an angle of 8 . We released two carts of different mass from the
top of the ramp with zero initial velocity. The masses of the carts were .486kg and .736kg. We
timed the carts as they each travelled 1.01m down the inclined plane. The base of the inclined
plane was 1m. We took measurements of the cart traveling down the inclined plane and timed
approximately T=1.35 s. At this point, increased mass did not seem to have an effect on the
cart’s acceleration.

We recorded video of each cart traveling down the inclined plane. Using our video data and
computer software, we plotted points for distance travelled per time interval. We produced
graphs for distance vs. time and velocity vs. time. We then used the slope of the velocity vs.
time graph to measure the acceleration of the cart.

The slope of the velocity vs. time graphs for both carts was .85 m/s2. The slopes of these graphs
represent the experimental values for acceleration. By comparing the slopes of the graphs, we
can see if increased mass had an effect on the cart’s acceleration. The graphs for both carts were
consistent with each other, so we can see that acceleration remained constant. The different
mass did not seem to have an affect on the carts’ downward acceleration.

We collected data from the following velocity vs. time graphs:

Velocity vs. Time Velocity vs. Time

(Mass 1, .486kg) (Mass 2, .736kg)

Corresponding distance vs. time graphs:

Distance vs. Time Distance vs. Time

(Mass 1, .486kg) (Mass 2, .736kg)

Mass 1 (.486kg) Mass 2 (.736kg)

Prediction x=.5579t2 x=.5579t2

vx=1.116t vx=1.116t

Match x=.425t2 x=.425t2

vx=.85t vx=.85t

ax=.85 ax=.85
Comparing our prediction to the experimental value, we found a margin of error between our
predicted value and our experimental value for acceleration of the cart. The numbers were off by
.51m/s2 or 37.5% as shown by the following equation:

The uncertainty in our procedure caused when measuring the time it took for the cart to travel
down the ramp. We used the computer to time the cart traveling approximately 1.01m down the
ramp and the initial reference frame could not be represented accurately. Another factor that
may have caused error in our measurements was friction. The cart was a low friction cart, but
friction could have affected our measurements of acceleration. Friction in the wheel axels and
friction between the wheels and the track could have decreased one or both of the carts’
accelerations.

Conclusions
After doing the experiment, our predictions remained correct. The graph produced by this
experiment displays no change in acceleration when mass is increased. Acceleration of both
carts was found to be the same. The acceleration value for both carts was .85m/s2. We
concluded that the mass of an object does not affect its acceleration because acceleration due to
gravity remains constant.

Even though there was experimental error in our experiment, we have concluded that mass does
not have an effect on an object’s acceleration. The margin of error was present for both carts.
The carts of different mass consistently had the same rate of acceleration.

References
No references were used.