Data Summary:
In this lab a cart on a tract was connected to a free-falling weight to determine the unknown mass of the cart and it’s passenger, when added. The track was also set at an incline to change the data, but calculations should result in the same mass. Data collection included releasing the weight and timing how long it would take the cart to travel over one meter on the track. The weight’s mass would be changed to gather different times to calculate different velocities and accelerations of the cart/weight system.
When the acceleration of the cart was calculated, no discrepancies were found as the acceleration increased with each addition of more mass to the hanging weight. There were no large variations in the data calculated. There was a larger range of data collected for part 1 as it was the easiest to time theses trials. However, when moving to the inclined trials in parts 2 and 3 our amount of collectable data was limited by the masses of weights we had available that would move the cart.
There were clear relationships …show more content…
First, we assumed that the there was no friction acting on the cart and that the pulley wheel was also frictionless and spun frictionlessly. This error was systematic and was present in all trials. Friction on the track and string could have slown the cart adding more force to the tension making the cart seem heavier than it actually is in the calculations. A second error is that we assumed there was no air resistance/drag acting on the cart or free-falling weight. Again, this could have slowed both the cart and weight making them seem more massive than they actually are in the calculations. To fix both of these errors we could have either used more precise lab equipment that reduced friction and drag as much as possible as to not majorly impact our data, or we could have added calculations to account for the friction and drag to make our data more
In this lab a cart on a tract was connected to a free-falling weight to determine the unknown mass of the cart and it’s passenger, when added. The track was also set at an incline to change the data, but calculations should result in the same mass. Data collection included releasing the weight and timing how long it would take the cart to travel over one meter on the track. The weight’s mass would be changed to gather different times to calculate different velocities and accelerations of the cart/weight system.
When the acceleration of the cart was calculated, no discrepancies were found as the acceleration increased with each addition of more mass to the hanging weight. There were no large variations in the data calculated. There was a larger range of data collected for part 1 as it was the easiest to time theses trials. However, when moving to the inclined trials in parts 2 and 3 our amount of collectable data was limited by the masses of weights we had available that would move the cart.
There were clear relationships …show more content…
First, we assumed that the there was no friction acting on the cart and that the pulley wheel was also frictionless and spun frictionlessly. This error was systematic and was present in all trials. Friction on the track and string could have slown the cart adding more force to the tension making the cart seem heavier than it actually is in the calculations. A second error is that we assumed there was no air resistance/drag acting on the cart or free-falling weight. Again, this could have slowed both the cart and weight making them seem more massive than they actually are in the calculations. To fix both of these errors we could have either used more precise lab equipment that reduced friction and drag as much as possible as to not majorly impact our data, or we could have added calculations to account for the friction and drag to make our data more