Yelena Nichols Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Physics 212, 8:00am Thursday Lab Section F Thursday October 20, 2016 Lab Five: Newton’s Second Law Objective: The aim of this experiment is to investigate Newton’s second law of motion by determining the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration from the data collected and the analysis of graphs for a cart’s motion as it moved back and forth on a Vernier track. Theory: In this experiment, Newton’s Second Law was used to determine the relationship between force, mass and acceleration. His law was computed by the equation Force= mass * acceleration. Using this equation you can see that force is directly proportional to acceleration, and that mass is indirectly proportional to acceleration. The more massive an object, the less it will accelerate. Force is measured in Newtons (Kg*m/s2). Procedure: 1. Connect a Dual-Range Force Sensor to Channel 1 on the Vernier computer interface. 2. Connect the Low-g Accelerometer to Channel 2 on the interface. 3. Open the file “Newtons Second Law” from the Physics with Vernier folder. 4. Attach the accelerometer and hook the Force Sensor around the pin and then orient the arrow. 5. Record the mass of the cart. 6. Place the cart on a level Vernier track. 7. Make sure the cart is not moving and click . 8. Check to make sure both sensors are highlighted and click . Trial One Procedure: 1. Click and take several seconds to move the cart back and forth on the table. (Vary the motion and make sure that your hand is not touching the force sensor or cart body). 2. Click the Examine button, , and move the mouse across the force vs. time graph. 3. Record the shape of the force vs. time and acceleration vs. time graphs.

4. Fit a straight line to the force vs. acceleration graph. (graph should appear to be a straight line) by clicking the Linear Fit button, . 5. Record the equation for the regression line in the data table (include units) and estimate the acceleration of the cart when a force of 1.0 N has acted upon it.