Incline physics calculator Pc#

When you have completed your analysis with one angle, repeat for a different angle if asked by your instructor.A good set of data will show smooth curves on both the position and velocity graphs. When clicks are heard coming from the Motion Detector, push the cart up the incline as you practiced. Initiate data collection by clicking the green Collect button.(If your Motion Detector is green you can start the cart as close as 15 cm but if it is blue you must start it about 50 cm from the Motion Detector.) Be sure to catch the cart on its return before it crashes into the Motion Detector. Set the cart on the incline and practice pushing it uphill with just enough speed to rise near the top but not going over the edge.Change the duration of the experiment to 5 or 6 seconds. Click on the 'stopwatch' icon just to the left of the green Collect button.Open the file '06 Ball Toss' in the Physics with Computers folder. With the LabPro connected to your computer, launch Logger Pro. Connect the Motion Detector to your LabPro and place it near the bottom of the incline.Measure and record the mass of your cart, m. Measure the height from the table to the bottom of the incline at this point, D h.

Measure a length of 1 meter along the incline starting at the point where it touches the table. Set up the inclined plane or dynamics track as shown above.

Incline physics calculator Pc#

Macintosh or PC Computer, Inclined Plane (ramp or dynamics track), Laboratory Cart, Meter Stick, Go! Motion or Motion Detector and LabPro. Note that absolute values of acceleration have been used in these two equations.Īs you study the acceleration of a laboratory cart on an incline, you will use the motion of the cart to determine the angle of the incline and calculate the effective friction force acting on the cart. Using the Second Law: F net = ma = (F g - F fr) = m a dn. As the cart moves downhill (above right), the component of gravity pulls it down while the friction force pulls uphill, working against its motion, resulting in a dn.

From Newton's Second Law of Motion: F net = ma = (F g + F fr) = m a up. This is the acceleration that slows the cart while it is going uphill. This results in acceleration that we will call a up. While it is comforting to consider only gravity, to fully understand the data one collects with a Motion Detector, you need to include friction in your work.Īs the cart moves uphill (below left), the component of gravity and the friction force are both acting against the motion. As a laboratory cart goes up or down an inclined plane, it will be under the influence of two primary forces - gravity and friction.