Analysis

In Physics, many theories and laws are developed by the hardworking physicists
around the globe. Example of well-known laws are the Avogadros Law, Charles
Law, Charles Law, Einsteins Mass- Energy Equation and many other laws but the
most used and basic law in physics in the three (3) Newtons Law of Motion. The
first law states that if an object is at rest will stay at rest and an object that is in
motion will stay in motion unless an unbalanced force is acted upon it. A diagram
below shows how newtons first law of motion applies.

Newtons First Law of Motion

The first law of motion is commonly referred to as the Law of Inertia. The
magic behind this law is that if there is no net force resulting from unbalanced
forces acting on an object, then the object will maintain a constant velocity, and if
velocity is constant, the acceleration then will be equal to zero ( aobj =0 ). If the
velocity if equal to zero, then the object, remains at rest and it will be maintain its
resting position until an unbalanced force acts upon it. Aerodynamics is an
excellent example of Newtons Law of Inertia. If an additional external force is

applied, the velocity will change, and using the second law of motion, the amount
of change in velocity can be determined.
If the first law of motion states that, if the acting forces upon an object is
balanced, then the acceleration of that object are balanced, then the acceleration of
that object will be 0 m/s/s. If there will be a net or unbalanced force that is acting
on the object, it will then accelerate, changing the objects speed, direction or both
its speed and direction.
The second law of motion states that the acceleration of two variables the net
force acting upon the object and the mass of the object. The acceleration an object
depends directly upon the net force acting upon the object and inversely upon the
mass of the object. For example, if a force acts upon an object increase, the
acceleration of the object too will increase, on the other hand, if the mass of the
object is increased, then the acceleration of the object will decrease.

Newtons Second Law of Motion

Sir Isaac Newton defines his second law of motion a force to be equal to the
change in momentum with a change in time. Momentum is also defined to be the

mass of an object times its velocity. The familiar formula for the second law of
motion if shows below;
F=ma

Where F = summation of component forces of the object, m = mass of the

object, a = acceleration applied to the object. This equation tells us that an object
subjected to an external force will accelerate and that the amount of the
acceleration is proportional to the size of force. The second law of motion can be
used in computing for the motion of an aircraft resulting from aerodynamic forces,
aircraft weight and thrust.
For the third law of motion, it states that for every action, there is an equal and
opposite reaction. This means that for every force, there is a reaction force that is
equal in size but opposite in direction. In simple words, if you pushes an object, the
object also pushes you back.
For example, if you sit in your chair, your body exerts downward force on the
chair and the chair exerts an upwards force on your body. There are two forces
resulting from this interaction a force on the chair and a force on your body.
These two forces are called action and reaction forces. We must understand that
forces always come in pairs equal and opposite action-reaction force pairs.
In this experiment, it is about the Newtons Law of Motion, especially about
second law of motion. In this experiment we will verify the relationship between a
bodys acceleration and net force, and between acceleration and mass. Certain
formulas are used in this experiment. They are shown below.
(1) Newtons Second Law of Motion : Fnet =ma
(2) Tension : T =m1 a

(3) Accepted value for acceleration :

a=

m2 g
m1 +m2

2s
(4) Experimental value for acceleration: a= t ; s is the distance traveled

by the cart and t is the time of travel

The objective of this experiment are to (1) verify the direct proportionality of
acceleration and net force if the mass of the body is constant and (2) to verify the
inverse proportionality of acceleration and mass if the net force is constant. The
following materials are used for the experiment; Dynamic track with pulley,
dynamics cart, string, photogates, smart timer, set of weights and weight hanger.
The photos of these materials are as follows:

Picket Fence - this is used for

the

activation for the photogate and

smart

timer. (12.54g)

Set of Weights

Smart Timer

Pulley

 Photogates - used for the accurate

measure of time

Dynamic Track

Dynamic Cart

We are given precautions on handling these equipment so that we wont do

any damages and there would be less percentage error on the experiment. First is
that we should clean the surface of the dynamics track by wiping it with tissue to
remove dust and particles, second is that we should give on the super pulley and
the photogates to avoid damages, lastly is that we need to be sure that we use
220V-AC source to power the smart timer. We are also given an instruction that
there should be no acceleration before the dynamic cart enter the photogate, so we
must move the dynamic cart closer and closer to the photogate and hold it there so
that there should be less error on the results that we will take. Also, the photogates
are positioned at 20-cm mark and the 70-cm mark. This is the distance traveled that
the cart can travel
For the first part (Table 1) of this experiment, we will need to find the time (t)
for dynamic cart. The instructions are we need to set the smart timer to measure
time and we need to let the dynamic cart pass the photogates but the cart should
start with zero velocity, meaning it should be at rest before the cart passes the
photogates. Putting the cart closer and closer to the photogate makes the job easier.
For the first trial, a total mass of 20g should be placed on the hanging weight and it
should be used as m2 for the table 1. Five (5) trials are needed for this part, the
total hanging mass is increased by 20g per trial made. In this part, the mass of the
cart ( m1 is constant and the hanging mass is only changed. After calculating the
experimental and accepted value for acceleration, we computed for the percentage
error.
The results of the first part are shown in tabulated form below

Table 1
Trial

Total
Hanging

Net force,
m2 g

mass m2

Acceleratio
n (accepted
value), a

Time of
travel,
t

Acceleratio
n
(experiment
al value),

% Error

0.020 kg

0.196 N

0.3639 m/
s

0.040 kg

0.392 N

1.4462 s

0.4781 m/s2

11.42%

0.9141 s

1.1916 m/s2

4.897%

0.7264 s

1.8952 m/s2

8.792%

0.0624 s

2.5981 m/s2

6.441%

0.5685 s

3.0941 m/s2

7.549%

0.7018 m/
s2

0.060 kg

0.588 N

1.0164 m/
s2

0.080 kg

0.784 N

1.3099 m/
s

0.10 kg

0.980 N

1.5844 m/
s2

Mass of cart = 0.5184 kg

Distance traveled, s = 50m
For the second part (Table 2) of the experiment, the same process was initiated
like before (first part), the only change is that the mass of cart changes and the
hanging mass does not. The constant here is the hanging mass while before, the
constant mass is the mass of the dynamic cart. We used 100g as the constant
hanging mass for this part, same distance as before and since the hanging mass is
constant, the net force too is constant. The mass of cart is increased by 100 grams

per trial. There are only 5 trials for this part. After calculating the experimental and
accepted value for acceleration, we computed for the percentage error.
The results for the second part of the experiment are shown in tabulated form
below:

Table 2
Total hanging mass, m2 = 0.10 kg

Net Force, m2g = 0.98 N

Distance Traveled, s = 0.5 m

TRIA Mass of cart + Acceleration
L
1
2
3
4
5

mass added, m1
0.5184 kg
0.6184 kg
0.7184 kg
0.8184 kg
0.9184 kg

Time of Acceleration

(accepted travel, t
value), a
1.5844 m/s2
1.3639 m/s2
1.1973 m/s2
1.0669 m/s2
0.9622 m/s2

0.5685 s
0.6473 s
0.6972 s
0.7505 s
0.7970 s

(exp. value), Error

a
3.0941 m/s2
7.549%
2
2.3867 m/s
5.114%
2
2.0572 m/s
4.300%
2
1.7751 m/s
3.542%
2
1.5743 m/s
3.061%

For the last part (Table 3) of this experiment, same process as before is also
used but in this part, there is only one constant is the distance traveled which is
50cm. In this part, the mass of the cart ( m1 ) and the hanging mass ( m2 )
changes resulting in different net force ( m2 g ). Time is also the missing piece for

this table. After calculating the experimental and accepted value for acceleration,
we computed for the percentage error.
The results for the last part of this experiment are also given in tabulated view
below.

Table 3
Distance Traveled, s = 0.5 m
Mass of cart Total
TRIAL +

1
2
3
4
5

Net

mass hanging force,

added, m1

mass,

0.5185 kg
0.6185 kg
0.7185 kg
0.8185 kg
0.9185 kg

m2
0.02 kg
0.04 kg
0.06 kg
0.08 kg
0.10 kg

Acceleratio

Time of Acceleratio

travel, t

m2g

(accepted

(exp.

0.196 N
0.392 N
0.588 N
0.784 N
0.980 N

value), a
0.364 m/s2
0.5953 m/s2
0.7553 m/s2
0.8726 m/s2
0.9622 m/s2

value), a
0.4781 m/s2
0.9739 m/s2
1.3350 m/s2
1.5559 m/s2
1.7768 m/s2

1.4462 s
1.0133 s
0.8655 s
0.8017 s
0.7502 s

% Error

11.42%
1.894%
2.889%
3.432%
4.073%

Conclusion
As the world continues to moves, there are many possibilities that are created
for our beloved physicist. Many theories are being discovered and many laws are
being created. In Physics, laws are important because this laws keep the balance in
everything and helps us aide to create more possibilities. In the past, these laws
created an unimaginable things to happen, for example, because of the discovery of
the Einsteins Mass and Energy equation, nukes are been discovered and so as
nuclear power and power plants. Laws in physics are important since they are the
backbone of each discoveries today.
In this experiment, the specific law that is being conducted is the law that Sir
Isaac Newton himself discovered, the Newtons Second Law of Motion. There are
three laws of motion that Newton discovered, (1) Law of Inertia, (2) Newtons
Second Law of Motion and (3) Newtons Third Law of Motion. Each discussed
different concepts but are connected to each other.
Since we use the Newtons Law of Motion in this experiment, we will use the
formula F = m*a where F is the force, m is the mass of the object and a is the
acceleration. For this experiment we determined that if the net force that is acting
on the object increases, the acceleration of the object also increases and this is
shown by doing the first part (Table 1) of this experiment. We also determined that
if you increase the mass of the object and the net force is constant, the acceleration
of the object decreases and this is shown by doing the second part (Table 2) of this

experiment. Lastly, we also determined that if both net force and the mass of the
object is increased, the acceleration also increases and this is shown by doing the
doing the last part (Table 3) of this experiment. Therefore we come to the
conclusion that in Newtons Second Law of Motion, the acceleration of the object
is directly proportional to its net force and inversely to its mass.