PHYS 251 L

ATWOOD MACHINE LAB REPORT

Introduction:
The purpose of this lab is to test Newton’s 2nd law of motion by utilizing an Atwood’s machine
apparatus. The Atwood machine will be used to study the relationship among force, mass, and
acceleration, with the distribution of the mass between the two weights being the independent
variable.

Experiment:
It is hypothesized that the acceleration of the object observed will be directly proportional to
the net force acting on the object and inversely proportional to the total mass of the object. In
an Atwood machine apparatus two sets of unequal masses were suspended from a string on
either side of the pulley. The larger mass,𝑚2 , provides a net force, 𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = (𝑚2 − 𝑚1 )𝑔, thereby
causing both masses to accelerate according to Newton’s 2nd law of motion, 𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = (𝑚1 +
𝑚2 )𝑎. Combining these two equations, the theoretical acceleration can be calculated by the
equation
(𝑀2 −𝑀1 ) 𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡
𝑎= , OR 𝑎 =
(𝑀1 +𝑀2) (𝑀1 +𝑀2)

It was also possible to determine the experimental acceleration of the two masses by the Pasco
capstone software. Experimental acceleration value determined was compared to the
calculated theoretical acceleration value from known masses. Differences between these two
values of acceleration was expressed as a percent difference using the equation below
Percent difference = Experimental value − Theoretical value ∗ 100
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
This experiment was conducted using a smart pulley, horizontal rod, photogate, capstone
software, set of masses, digital adapter, ring stand, right-angle clamp support, thread and two
loose split rings. Two experimental procedures were conducted:
(a) Increasing mass difference (Keep total mass same): Masses were moved from one side
to the other, meaning one mass gets heavier as the other mass decrease in weight. This
process was repeated three times. The process changed the net force but kept the total
system mass. Recorded times from the fall for each set of mass is shown in the data
section under table #1 of the results
(b) Decreasing total mass (Constant Net Force): Exactly same amount of masses was
removed from both mass hangers. This process changed the total mass but kept the net
force the same. This process was repeated three times, and the recorded times of the
fall for each set of mass is shown in the data section under table #2 of the results.

Results:
Data Table: Constant Total Mass

Run 𝑀1 (𝑀2 𝑎𝑒𝑥𝑝 𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 𝑀1 +𝑀2 𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑦 Percent

(kg) (kg) m/s2 N kg m/s2 difference
Run #1 0.090 0.100 0.448 0.098 0.19 0.52 13%
Run #2 0.080 0.110 1.46 0.294 0.19 1.55 5.8%
Run #3 0.070 0.120 2.42 0.49 0.19 2.58 6.2%
Table #1

Data Table: Constant Net Force

Run 𝑀1 (𝑀2 𝑎𝑒𝑥𝑝 𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 𝑀1 +𝑀2 𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑦 Percent

(kg) (kg) m/s2 N kg m/s2 difference
Run #4 0.090 0.100 0.473 0.098 0.19 0.52 8.2%
Run #5 0.040 0.050 0.985 0.098 0.09 1.08 8.8%
Run #6 0.020 0.030 1.75 0.098 0.05 1.96 10.7%
Table #2

Discussion:
From the above results in table 1 and table 2 of the experiment, we can see that run #1
of the constant total mass data table and run #4 of the constant net force data table
varied in percentage differences though they have the exact mass weights. Based on our
examination of the results between those two runs, difference in percentage may have
been due to measurement error in height, and also reaction time to start and to stop
recording. From the data table for run #1 and run #4, we can see that the difference in
acceleration caused the percentage difference. From the constant mass data table,
there were variations in percentage though the total mass remain constant. This
difference in percentage may be due to the increasing mass difference between the
weights. From table 1, we can see that M1 decreases by 10 while M2 increases by 10,
this increase in M2 causes the acceleration to increase because M2 becomes heavier.
Therefore, increase in mass differences caused the percent difference for the constant
mass trials. Observing the constant net force from table 2 data table, we can see that
there were percent differences. The absolute percent difference value between each
value is consistent. In both experiment, the percent difference calculations ranges from
5.8% to 13. A reason for this difference might be that the string and the pulley are not
massless or frictionless.