Are there any forces acting on

the car to speed it up or slow it down?

Terran Brown
Woodley Watson, Sarah Simpson
Mr. Walcott
SPH 3U0

Purpose:
The purpose of this experiment is to observe the acceleration, assuming no force is acting on it,
and determine if it decreases or increases

Hypothesis:
The car was hypothesized to decelerate at irregular times because of human error. Moreover, the
car was hypothesized not to reach the end of the meter stick.

Materials:
➢ Cardboard
➢ Motor
➢ Battery
➢ Connector
➢ Wheels
➢ Small Metal Rods
➢ Ruler
➢ Scissors
➢ Measuring Tape
➢ Glue Gun
➢ Elastic Band
➢ Wires

Procedure:
1. Cut a piece of cardboard with a width of 6 cm and a length of 11.2 cm for the main body
of the car.
2. Cut out another two pieces of cardboard with a width of 2.5 cm and a length of 11.2 cm
for the sides.
3. Cut out four small holes along the side pieces where your wheels would be.
4. Glue each side piece of cardboard to the main body with the glue gun.
5. Take two small metal rods, slide them through each hole in the side pieces and attach a
wheel to each side.
6. Glue the battery to the left side of the main body.
 7. Glue the motor to the front, middle of the main body and glue a wheel like gear behind
that.
8. Glue another wheel like gear beside the battery and wrap an elastic band around each
gear.
9. Attach the wires to the motor and when ready attach the other end of the wires to the
battery allowing the car to move.

Data and Observations:

Trials Displacement (m) Time (s)

Trial #1 1m 2.06 s

Trial #2 0.98 m 2.44 s

Trial #3 0.7 m 3.18 s

Trial #4 0.75 m 3.8 s

Trial #5 0.5 m 5.67 s

Calculations:

Trials Velocity (m/s) Acceleration (m/s)

Trial #1 v=d/t a=vf-vi/t
=0.48 m/s =0.23 m/s
Trial #2 v=d/t a=vf-vi/t
=0.40 m/s =0.16 m/s
Trial #3 v=d/t a=vf-vi/t
=0.22 m/s =0.06 m/s
Trial #4 v=d/t a=vf-vi/t
=0.19 m/s =0.05 m/s
Trial #5 v=d/t a=vf-vi/t
=0.08 m/s =0.01 m/s
Discussion:
Observations verify the accuracy of the hypothesis. As acceleration decreased over time, velocity
increased slowly, proving the hypothesis correct. Speed is also gradually increasing, indicating
that velocity and speed are related. An object's velocity and speed are determined by how fast it
is going and in what direction. Since the car's body is small, its mass was a significant factor in
an error. This was one of the errors observed that led to the car not starting at first, which
resulted in the remaking of the car.

Conclusion:
This experiment measures acceleration without any external force, assuming there is none, and
determines if it decreases or increases. We determined if acceleration, velocity and speed
decrease or increase using the skills we learned in class. Considering the car's small size, its mass
played a significant role in an error. Due to this error, the car didn't start at first, requiring the car
to be remade. As a result of human error, the car decelerated at irregular times in the lab,
indicating it would not reach the end of the meter stick. I would have used a larger base if I were
to repeat this experiment so that the mass wouldn't have been such a major factor in if the car
started or not.