General Physics 1

Members : ___ ___ Grade & Section: _ _ Date: __ __

Laboratory Activity No. 1

Newton’s Laws of Motion

Objectives:
To verify the Newton’s laws and to reproduce forces exerted on an object using a simulation.

Apparatus/Materials:

Laptop/Phone with internet

Theory:

Sir Isaac Newton formulated three principles based upon observations he and others made. These
laws are truly fundamental, for they cannot be deduced or proved from other principles. The three laws
of motion are as follows:

First Law of Motion:

When the net force on a body is zero, its motion doesn’t change.
∑ 𝐹⃗ = 0
Second Law of Motion:
Relates force to acceleration when the net force is not zero.
∑ 𝐹⃗ = 𝑚𝑎⃗
Third Law of Motion:
Relationship between the forces that two interacting bodies exert on each other.
𝐹⃗𝐴 𝑜𝑛 𝐵 = −𝐹⃗𝐵 𝑜𝑛 𝐴
The external forces exerted on an object can be categorized as contact and non-contact. One of the
important contact forces is the Friction that opposes the motion. The friction force is defined as:

Static Friction (𝑓𝑠 ): The friction force that acts when there is NO motion.

𝑓𝑠 = 𝜇𝑠 𝑛
where 𝑛 is the normal force and 𝜇𝑠 is the coefficient of static friction.

Kinetic Friction (𝑓𝑘 ): The friction force that acts when an object slides over a surface.

𝑓𝑠 = 𝜇𝑘 𝑛
where 𝑛 is the normal force and 𝜇𝑘 is the coefficient of kinetic friction.

Both kinetic and static friction depends on the normal force exerted on the object and the property of the
surface where an object is resting or moving.
General Procedure:

1. Access the link using your computer: https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/cheerpj/motion-

series/latest/motion-series.html?simulation=ramp-forces-and-motion. Familiarize yourselves with the
simulation before conducting the experiment.

2. Click on the Friction tab.

3. Set the mass of the object to 75.0 kg and set the applied force, object’s position, angle, 𝜇𝑠 , and 𝜇𝑘 to 0
(zero). The values will be the “initial parameters”.

4. Click the button to start or pause the motion. The clear button will reset the motion. Always click
the stop and clear button before starting a new procedure.

5. Take a screen shot of all the motion.

 Specific Procedure:

Experiment A:

1a. Set all values to the initial parameters. Set the applied force to 20 N and start the motion. Return the
values to the initial parameters then click the clear button. Repeat the procedure by setting the applied
force to 200 N. Then repeat for the 400 N.

2a. Set the values of 𝜇𝑠 = 0.5 (coefficient of static friction) then repeat procedure 1a. Observe the motion.

3a. Again, set the values of 𝜇𝑠 to 0.5 but this time find the maximum value of the applied force before the
object moves. Record the value on Table 1. The value will be your experimental value. Then solve the
applied force using the 1st Law, the value will be the theoretical value.

4a. Set your own value of 𝜇𝑠 and repeat procedure 3a. Repeat the procedure twice.

5a. Solve for the Relative error using the experimental and theoretical values of the applied force.

Experiment B:

1b. From the initial parameters, change the value of the following parameters to: 𝜇𝑠 = 0.5 and the Object
position = 5 m.

2b. Set the angle to 15°, then set the applied force to 200 N and start the motion. Return the parameters
to the values in 1b. Repeat the procedure by setting the applied force to 400 N. Then repeat for 600 N.
Observe the motion.

3b. At angle 15°, determine the maximum applied force before the object moves. Record the value on
Table 2. The value will be the experimental value.

4b. Repeat procedure 3b, this time change the angle to 30° then for 45°. Solve the theoretical value using
the 1st Law.

5b. Solve for the Relative error using the experimental and theoretical values of the applied force.

Results and Discussion:

Table 1: Experiment A
Coefficient of Static Applied Force (N) Relative Error
Friction, 𝝁𝒔 Experimental Theoretical
0.5
0.3
0.7
Discussion: The experimental and theoretical value values are the same because the object is at rest
and it is in the state of equilibrium so this explains Sir Isaac Newton’s First Law that when the mass and
normal force is the same or equal, then it’s the same and equal to frictional force and applied force,
while the relative error should be zero, in any case of the coefficient static friction we have picked.

Table 2: Experiment B
 Applied Force (N) Relative Error
Angle
Experimental Theoretical
15°
30°
45°
Discussion:

Computation and Analysis:

1. Experiment A: What are your observations on procedures 1a and 2a? Provide a screen shot of the
simulation for each observation.
2. Draw your free body diagram for Experiment A and solve for the applied force for each change in the
coefficient of static friction. Write your complete solution with explanation on the step-by-step methods
before arriving at the final answer.
3. Experiment A: Solve for the relative error. What can you say about the error for the experimental and
theoretical values of the applied forces?
4. Experiment B: What are your observations on procedure 2b? Provide a screen shot of the simulation
for each observation.
5. Draw your free body diagram for Experiment B and solve for the applied force for each change in the
angle of the ramp. Write your complete solution with explanation on the step-by-step methods before
arriving at the final answer.
6. Experiment B: Solve for the relative error. What can you say about the error for the experimental and
theoretical values of the applied forces?
MEMBERS: Write the group members and their specific contribution/s to this lab activity.

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