Atwood’s Machine EX-9973 Page 1 of 7

Lab Report: Newton’s Second Law – Atwood’s Machine

Name: Sample Data

DATA TABLE for PROCEDURE A: Total Mass Constant

Experimental

Descending Ascending
a exp
m1 m2 (Slope of the v vs. t plot.)

Run
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average
1
29.9 27.1 0.335 0.341 0.334 0.337
2
31.9 25.1 0.964 0.967 0.945 0.959
3 35.9 21.1 2.12 2.22 1.95 2.097
4 37.0 20.1 2.57 2.32 2.51 2.467
[g] [g] [m/s2]

Descending Ascending Total Mass Net Force Experimental Theoretical Percent

a theo difference
m1 m2 M total Fnet a exp
(Average)
Run
m1  m2  m1  m2 g
Fnet M total
1
29.9 27.1 0.027 0.337 0.481 35.4%
2
31.9 25.1 57.0 0.067 0.959 1.169 19.8%
3 35.9 21.1 0.145 2.097 2.545 19.3%
4 37.0 20.1 0.166 2.467 2.901 16.2%
[g] [g] [g] [N] [m/s2] [m/s2]

Written by Cecilia A. Hernández 2010

Atwood’s Machine EX-9973 Page 2 of 7

DATA TABLE for PROCEDURE B: Net Force Constant

Experimental

Descending Ascending
a exp
m1 m2 (Slope of the v vs. t plot.)

Run
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average
5
14.9 10.0 1.44 1.44 1.33 1.403
6
16.9 12.0 1.24 1.23 1.22 1.230
7 17.9 13.0 1.17 1.17 1.18 1.173
8 37.8 32.9 0.509 0.502 0.510 0.507
[g] [g] [m/s2]

Descending Ascending Total Mass Net Force Experimental Theoretical Percent

a theo difference
m1 m2 M total Fnet a exp
(Average) Fnet M total
Run
m1  m2  m1  m2 g

5
14.9 10.0 24.9 1.403 1.929 31.5%
6
16.9 12.0 28.9 0.048 1.230 1.662 29.9%
7 17.9 13.0 30.9 1.173 1.554 27.9%
8 37.8 32.9 70.7 0.507 0.679 29.0%
[g] [g] [g] [N] [m/s2] [m/s2]
Atwood’s Machine EX-9973 Page 3 of 7

DATA for PROCEDURE C: The Effect of the Pulley

Mass of string used in Procedures A & B: 0.4 g

Diameter of the Super Pulley: 5.1 cm

Radius of the Super Pulley, r  2.54 cm

From Previous Activities Calculate

Experimental Net Force Total Mass
Acceleration
Fnet M total Fnet  M total a
Run
a assumed assumed assumed assumedl

m1  m2 g m1  m2 
1 0.337 0.027 0.057 0.0082
2 0.959 0.067 0.057 0.0120
3 2.097 0.145 0.057 0.0255
4 2.467 0.166 0.057 0.0248
5 1.403 0.048 0.025 0.0131
6 1.230 0.048 0.029 0.0125
7 1.173 0.048 0.031 0.0118
8 0.507 0.048 0.071 0.0122
[m/s2] [N] [kg] [N]

From the plot:

Slope, m = 0.0081 kg

y-intercept, f  = 0.0041 N

Calculation:

Rotational Inertia of the pulley, I = 52.3 x 10-7 kg m2

Written by Cecilia A. Hernández 2010

Atwood’s Machine EX-9973 Page 4 of 7

0.0300

0.0250
y = 0.0081x + 0.0047
0.0200
Calculated

0.0150

0.0100

0.0050

0.0000
0.000 0.500 1.000 1.500 2.000 2.500 3.000

Experimental Acceleration
Atwood’s Machine EX-9973 Page 5 of 7

QUESTIONS PROCEDURE A: Total Mass Constant

1. Look at the data: as the net force increased, what happened to the acceleration? Did it increase,
decrease or stay constant?
As the net force increased, the acceleration increased as well.

2. Did a change in the net force produce a change in acceleration by the same factor? Do your
results agree with Newton’s 2nd Law?
The factor was not always exactly the same. For example, Trial 1 has Fnet = 0.027 N, and Trial 4 has Fnet
= 0.166 N. That is an increase in the net force by a factor of about 6. (0.166/0.027 = 6.2). In
comparison, the acceleration increased from 0.337 m/s2 to 2.467 m/2, an increase by a factor of
approximately 7.
3. Use this grid to make a plot of Net Force vs. Experimental Acceleration and draw the best fitting
line.
2.0

1.8

1.6

1.4 (2.0 m/s

, 0.14)
2
, 0.14 N)

1.2

1.0

.08

.06

.04 (0.5 m/s2 , 0.04 N)

.02

m/s2
.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Experimental Acceleration

Written by Cecilia A. Hernández 2010

Atwood’s Machine EX-9973 Page 6 of 7

4. Calculate the slope of the best-fitting line. What does the slope of the best-fit line represent?
(Hint: what are the units of the slope?)
Slope:
0.14 N – 0.04 N
_________________________ = 0.067 kg
2.0 m/s2 – 0.5 m/s2
The slope represents the total mass of the system. The units are N/m/s2, which is equivalent to kg.

QUESTIONS PROCEDURE B: Net Force Constant

1. Look at the data: as the total mass increased, what happened to the acceleration? Did it increase,
decrease or stay constant?
As the total mass increased, the acceleration decreased.

2. Did a change in the total mass produce a change in acceleration by the same factor? Do your
results agree with Newton’s 2nd Law?
The factor was almost exactly the same. For example, Trial 1 has Mass = 24.9 g, and Trial 4 has Mass =
70.7 g. That is an increase in the total mass by a factor of about 2.8. (70.7/24.8 = 2.8). In comparison,
the acceleration decreased from 1.403 m/s2 to 0.507 m/2, a decrease by a factor of approximately
1/2.8 (1.403/0.507 = 2.8).

QUESTIONS PROCEDURE C: The Rotational Inertia of the Pulleys

1. The motion and mass of the string that moves the system was never considered in any part of the
theoretical analysis. Looking at your results, is it reasonable to ignore the mass of the string as
part of the “total mass of the system”? Discuss.
The mass of the string is extremely small compared to the calculated “excess mass” of the system. It
is reasonable to assume that the mass of the string does not considerably affect the results and it is
OK to ignore it. The “excess mass” seems to be the effect of the rotational inertia of the pulley and it
is also very small, as expected.

2. Looking back at the ideal case: was it safe to assume that the system is essentially frictionless?
Yes, it was safe to assume this. There is friction in the system, but it is minimal.
Atwood’s Machine EX-9973 Page 7 of 7

3. What has a larger impact on the percent differences found in procedures A & B, the small excess
mass or the small amount of friction? Discuss.
The small amount of friction varies from being 3% to 15% of the net force across the trials. The small
excess mass varies from being 11% to 32% of the total mass. It seems that the effects of the
rotational inertia of the pulley are more significant than any friction in the system in each of the trials.

4. Assuming frictional forces only act to oppose the linear motion of the masses, and that each mass
receives the same amount of friction f , prove that f   2 f .

T T The equation of motion of the descending mass, m1 , is:

f
m1 g  T  f  m1a
m2 a m1 a
The equation of motion for the ascending mass, m2 , is:
f m2g T  m2 g  f  m2 a
m1 g

Adding the two equations together:

m1 g  m2 g  2 f  m1  m2 a

That is,
Fnet m g  m2 g  2 f
a  1
M total m1  m2

Written by Cecilia A. Hernández 2010