EXPERIMENT NO.

4: Newton’s Laws of Motion

Newton’s Laws of motion are a fundamental set of principles that describes the relationship
between forces, mass, and motion. These laws have implications in a variety of fields including
engineering. To demonstrate Newton’s laws of motion, we commonly use a simple device called
Atwood Machines. Atwood's Machine shows the relationship between force and acceleration of
the system or the second law of Newton’s laws of motion. There are several designs of Atwood
machines depending on the specific application. From simple to complicated set-up that lifts
heavy objects such as boulder of rocks which is used for rescue operations and the mining
industry. Other applications can be observed in the construction of buildings, highways, bridges,
and others that requires lifting machines.
In this experiment, we are going to use the basic design of the Atwood Machine, it consists of
two unequal masses connected by a single string that passes over an ideally massless and
frictionless pulley as in Figure 4a. When released, the heavier object accelerates downward while
the lighter object accelerates upward. The free-body diagrams (See Figure 4b) show the forces
acting on each of the masses. Where T is the tension in the string. In the Figure 4a, the m 2 is
greater than m1 or we called m2 as descending mass and m1 as the ascending mass.

(a) (b)

Figure 4.1: (a) Schematic diagram of Atwood machine. (b) The free-body diagram of the Forces
that acted on the object in the Atwood machine.

The magnitude of the acceleration, a, is the same for each mass, but the masses accelerate in
opposite directions. We adopt the convention that downward motion is negative. Applying
Newton's 2nd Law (Fnet =ma) to the descending mass, m1 gives

-m1 g+T =−m1 a (4.1)

Applying Newton's 2nd Law to the ascending mass, m2, gives

 −m2 g+T =m2 a (4.2)

Eliminating T between the two equations and solving for the acceleration yields:

m 2−m 1
a=( )g (4.3)
m 2 +m 1

To compute for the net force we have this equation:

❑

∑
❑
F net =( m 2−m1 ) g (4.4)

Take note that the formula of acceleration and force varies on the design and set-up of the
Atwood Machine.

Objectives:
1. To study Newton’s second law using a simple machine called Atwood’s machine
2. To determine the acceleration due to gravity experimentally.
Materials:
Force table set-up with movable pulley, set of mass, meterstick, and string.
Set-Up:

Figure 4.2: Atwood Machine Physical Set-up.

Procedure:
Part I. Keeping the total mass constant
1. Build an Atwood machine using a force table, mass hanger, weights, and string.
2. Put the force table on the top of the chair to have enough height. Align the two pulleys by
placing the 1st pulley at an angle of zero degree and the 2 nd pulley at 180 degrees (See
figure below).

3. At the first pulley, hang the 160 g (mass 1) using a string that is also connected to another
mass 140 g (mass 2). Then, hang mass 2 at the second pully.
4. Measure the height (h) of mass 1 with respect to the ground. (The length of the string
from the pulley to the ground must be equal to the height (h)).
5. Slowly pull down on mass 2 so that mass 1 is about near the pulley, and mass 2 is near
the ground. Make sure no obstacle or wind force in the surroundings, then let go of the
mass 1.
6. Use a timer or mobile phone to record the time of fall.
7. Repeat steps 1-5, but this time use values in Table 4.1.
8. Compute for the experimental acceleration using this equation

2∆h
a exp=
t2
9. Compute for the theoretical acceleration using this equation (set: g=9.8m/s2):
m1−m2
a theoretical=( )g
m2+ m1

10. Compute for the net force:

❑
∑
❑
F net =( m 1−m 2 ) g

11. Compute for the percentage error:

Percentage Error ( % )=[(a ¿ ¿theoretical−a experimental)/(atheoretical )] x 100 (%) ¿

Part II. Keeping the total Force constant

12. Repeat the procedures from Part I, but this time, use the values in Table 4.2.
 LAB REPORT

NAME SIGNATURE

COURSE TITLE: PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS LABORATORY

EXPERIMENT TITLE:
EXPERIMENT NO:
DATE SUBMITTED:
PROFESSOR:
GRADES/SCORES:
Data and Result:
Part I. Keeping the total mass constant
Table 4.1.
Trial m1 m2 Time aexp atheoretical Fnet Error
(%)
(g) (g) (s)
1 160 140
2 170 130
3 180 120
4 190 110
5 200 100

Part II. Keeping the total Force constant

Table 4.2.
Trial m1 M2 Time aexp atheoretical Fnet Error
(%)
(g) (g) (s)
1 120 100
2 140 120
3 160 140
4 180 160
5 200 180

Computation: (ATTACHED SEPARATE SOLUTION SHEET)

Analysis

Conclusion
 INDIVIDUAL LABORATORY REPORT
Name: ____________________________________________ Section:_________
Course: ___________________________________________ Score: _________

Part I. Keeping the 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?

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

3. Make a plot of Net Force vs. Experimental Acceleration and draw the best-fitting line.

Part II. Keeping the Net force constant.

4. Look at the data: as the total mass increased, what happened to the acceleration? Did it
increase, decrease or stay constant?
5. 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?