I need some help to answer my physics lab questions: here is the lab description
ID: 2260477 • Letter: I
Question
I need some help to answer my physics lab questions:
here is the lab description:
http://postimg.org/gallery/2sj7begk/
Questions:
1- In part 2 of the lab, is the mechanical energy of only the cart conserved as it moves along the ramp? Explain.
2- For part 1 of the lab, assuming all measurments and calculations were done correctly. what would a slope signifcantly less than 1 tell you about the system? what would a slope significantly greater than 1 tell you about the system? Explain
3. In part 2, if you decided to make the origin for measuring your cart's vertical position 0.5 meters lower than you did. how would that change your calculated value! what would the change in your calculated value for the final mechanical energy be? Explain how you would expect the slope and y-intercept of your graph for part 3 to be affected.
of the lab, is the mechanical energy of only the cart conserved as it moves along the ramp? Explain. For part 1 of the lab, assuming all measurments and calculations were done correctly. what would a slope signifcantly less than 1 tell you about the system? what would a slope significantly greater than 1 tell you about the system? Explain if you decided to make the origin for measuring your cart's vertical position 0.5 meters lower than you did. how would that change your calculated value! what would the change in your calculated value for the final mechanical energy be? Explain how you would expect the slope and y-intercept of your graph for part 3 to be affected.Explanation / Answer
1-ANSWER-
In this case, the cart will be on the incline connected, via a light string over a pulley at the upper end of
the track, to a mass which may fall towards the ground. As the mass falls, the cart will be pulled up the incline
the same distance s that the cart falls. The pulley may be assumed to be massless and frictionless so that the
tension everywhere in the string is assumed to be uniform. Any frictional force on the cart from the incline is
assumed to be negligible as is air resistance. In that case, the only non conservative force that may do work
is the tension in the string. However, the tension would do just as much positive work on the cart as it does
negative work on the hanging mass. As a result, the total work done by non-conservative forces will be zero.
The mechanical energy of the system should be conserved as the objects move. If the system is released from
rest, the initial kinetic energy will be zero. As the system begins to move, the mass will move downward and
lose gravitational potential energy. At the same time, the cart will be moving upward thus gaining gravitational
potential energy. If the mass loses more gravitational energy than the cart gains, the di?erence will be converted
into kinetic energy in the system. Both the mass and the cart will have to move with the same speed. Our
conservation of energy relationship can then be applied to this system.
2-ANSWER-
1. Determine the distance that your cart moved while it was blocking the photogate. This distance will be the
same throughout the rest of your calculations.
2. For each of your eight distances, calculate the average of your three measured times. Use this time and
the distance the pvc tube moved while blocking the photogate beam to determine the speed of the cart at the