USC Department of Physics _____________________ ____

Name/s of student/s: CHU, CHRISTINE LEIGH A.

Date submitted:09/07/2022_____
CLAROS, NOREN C.
Physics Lab Subject: _PHYS 2102L___ Group #: 1 Class Schedule: F 07:30 AM -10:30 AM
Name of instructor: CAPISTRANO, NILO SUMIL Remarks:___________________

Worksheet
Experiment: Newton’s Second Law

Distance travelled: _500 cm_= _5_m__

Acceleration
Mass of cart Vertical mass Time of travel m2 g
Environment a=
m1 (kg) m2 (kg) t (s) m1 +m2
a (m/s2)
0.20 0.20 1.430 4.9
0.20 0.35 1.270 6.2

Earth 0.20 0.50 1.200 7.0

(g = 9.8 m/s2) 0.20 0.20 1.430 4.9
0.35 0.20 1.680 3.6
0.50 0.20 1.890 2.8
0.20 0.20 3.540 0.8
0.20 0.35 3.130 1.1

Moon 0.20 0.50 2.960 1.1

(g = 1.6 m/s2) 0.20 0.20 3.540 0.8
0.35 0.20 4.150 5.8 x 101
0.50 0.20 4.680 4.6 x 101
0.20 0.20 0.878 1.3 x 101
0.20 0.35 0.778 1.7 x 101

Jupiter 0.20 0.50 0.735 1.9 x 101

(g = 25.95 m/s2)
0.20 0.20 0.878 1.3 x 101
0.35 0.20 1.030 9.4
0.50 0.20 1.160 7.4

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USC Department of Physics _____________________ ____

1. When the mass of the cart (m1) is held constant while the vertical mass (m2) is increased, what
happens to the:
a) time of travel? it decreases
b) acceleration? It increases

Explain what happens to the acceleration.

Two of the external forces that affect the acceleration is the gravitational force acting on the
vertical mass (m2) and the frictional force acting on the cart (m1). As the m2 increases, the
gravitational force which depends on the mass of the object (Force = ma) causes the force on m 2 to
be stronger compared to the force on m 1 that remains the same. This decreases the time it takes for
the cart to travel the same distance because the acceleration is increasing.

2. When the vertical mass (m2) is held constant while the mass of the cart (m1) is increased, what
happens to the:
a) time of travel? It increases
b) acceleration? it decreases

Explain what happens to the acceleration.

Two of the external forces that affect the acceleration is the gravitational force acting on the
vertical mass (m2) and the frictional force acting on the cart (m1). As the m1 increases the
frictional force which depends on the mass of the object increases and slows down the descent of
the vertical mass that remains constant. This increases the period of time it takes for the cart to
travel the same distance because the acceleration is decreasing.

3. Compare the resulting acceleration (a) of the system as the environment is changed from the
Earth to the Moon and to Jupiter.
The resulting acceleration increases as the mass of the cart (m1) is held constant while the vertical
mass (m2) is increased, and as the vertical mass (m2) is held constant while the mass of the cart
(m1) is increased, the resulting acceleration decreases. This pattern holds true for the
environments on Earth, the Moon, and Jupiter. The only difference is that the resulting
acceleration of the system corresponds with the acceleration due to gravity of the planet where on
the Moon the resulting experiments have the smallest acceleration results compared to Earth
which has a larger acceleration due to gravity, and Jupiter had the largest resulting acceleration
due to having the largest acceleration due to gravity value.

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USC Department of Physics _____________________ ____

4. What is the relationship between the acceleration (a) of the system and the acceleration due to
gravity (g) of the environment?

F net=ma
m2 g
a=
m1 +m 2
m2 g=( m 1 +m 2) a
The acceleration of the system is directly proportional to the acceleration due to gravity. If (g)
where to increase, then (a) would increase as well.

Documentation:

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USC Department of Physics _____________________ ____

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