Physics Draft Lab #3

Statement: The islands in the Caribbean are small and those along the volcanic chain, are also
very mountainous. As a result there is not much room for standard runways needed for larger
airlines to land. Some airports have shorter runways, forcing aeroplanes to use every available
runway for landing and departing. In order to provide greater stopping potential of an aeroplane,
some airports have used materials on their runways to allow a plane to stop over a shorter
distance. Plan and design an experiment that can be used to show how the use of different
materials can ensure a shorter stopping distance of a moving object.

Hypothesis: A “vehicle” down a ramp with a fixed length and fixed height, but has the shortest
stopping distance has the greatest dynamic friction.

Aim: To show how the use of different materials can ensure a shorter stopping distance of a
moving object.

Apparatus: A toy car, 6 surface materials, stopwatch, ramp, support stand, extensive clamp,
metre ruler.

Diagram: (EXAMPLE DIAGRAM)

—--------------- CAR

——-------- RAMP

—-- METRE
kkkkkkkkk kRULER

—----------------------------------------------- FLAT
ffffffff SURFACE

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MATERIAL
 Apparatus was set up as shown in the diagram above.
Theory:

1. Dynamic friction (also known as Kinetic Friction) is the frictional force formed between
any two surfaces while they are in motion. Its formula is F = μN. The greater the friction
between the road, the shorter the distance required to stop. The major source of friction is
the surface present, as well as the mass of the object. More friction is created when the
surface becomes rougher and an object becomes heavier.

2. According to Newton's second law, an object's acceleration is directly proportional to the

net external force exerted and indirectly proportional to its mass. Its formula is F = ma. In
other words, more force produces more acceleration for a given mass, whereas more
mass produces less acceleration from the same force. Force causes acceleration, and
acceleration causes velocity to change. When the velocity reaches zero, an object has
come to a halt, but it will never be zero. This implies that the object continues to move
between the moment the force is applied and the time it comes to a stop. The distance it
travels in that duration is referred to as the stopping distance.

3. When not in motion yet capable of becoming active, an object can pose potential energy.
Everything has rest mass potential energy when it is at rest; if the object is in a position to
be impacted by gravity and fall, it possesses gravitational potential energy. As a result,
kinetic energy is acted upon when it is released.
Kinetic energy is the energy that an object has as a result of its motion. A vehicle's
stopping distance is the distance it takes to come to a complete stop owing to the material
used. Because of their greater mass, bigger vehicles have more kinetic energy and
momentum than smaller vehicles. As a result, stopping a larger vehicle requires more
energy than stopping a smaller one. This suggests that a large vehicle's stopping distance
would be greater than that of a small vehicle. The weight of a vehicle also plays a role in
determining stopping distance. The more kinetic energy a vehicle possesses, the longer it
takes to come to a complete stop. When it stops, it goes back to potential energy.
For both forms of energy to be related, this formula shows how.
Variables:
Manipulated Variable: Different types of surface.
Responding Variable: Stopping distance
Controlled Variable: The type of vehicle and the speed of the vehicle

Method:
1. Set up apparatus as shown in the diagram.
2. Using the metre ruler, determine the ramp's slope and the distance to the surface.
3. Place a toy car on the ramp and use the stopwatch and record time taken.
4. Release the car down the ramp. By doing so, its continuous motion is accounted for as the
time taken and speed of the car moving down the ramp.
5. Calculate, measure and mark the car’s new distance from the top of the ramp to the
stopping distance.
6. Repeat these steps 5 more times for the rest of the surfaces and record observations into a
table.

Expected readings:

Title: Table showing the results of the stopping distance with each surface used down the ramp.
 Different types of Stopping distances Time Taken Dynamic Friction
Surfaces used

Surface 1

Surface 2

Surface 3

Surface 4

Surface 5

Surface 6

Expected Results Statement: When the object moving down a ramp at a constant speed with a
fixed length and fixed height comes into contact with the variety of surfaces, the shortest
stopping distance has the greatest dynamic friction which will be the most suitable runway
material.

Discussion:

To account for stopping distance, an object must go down the ramp at a constant speed
with an initial length and fixed height that meets the diversity of surfaces. The runway material
with the highest dynamic friction will have the shortest stopping distance. This is significant
since speed is a major component in all traffic accidents and fatalities. The quicker a vehicle
travels, the longer it takes to come to a stop and the higher the chance of a collision. Speed and
stopping distances do not increase in sync. Small increases in speed result in longer stopping
distances.

Time, distance, and mass are all key components in this lab, but the major conclusion you
can draw from them is dynamic friction. Dynamic friction (also known as Kinetic Friction) is the
frictional force formed between any two surfaces while they are in motion. Its formula is F = μN.
The greater the friction between the road, the shorter the distance required to stop. The major
source of friction is the surface present, as well as the mass of the object. More friction is created
when the surface becomes rougher and an object becomes heavier. Newton's Second Law may be
implemented with the aid of force.
 According to Newton's second law, an object's acceleration is directly proportional to the
net external force exerted and indirectly proportional to its mass. In other words, more force
produces more acceleration for a given mass, whereas more mass produces less acceleration
from the same force. Force causes acceleration, and acceleration causes velocity to change.
When the velocity reaches zero, an object has come to a halt, but it will never be zero. This
implies that the object continues to move between the moment the force is applied and the time it
comes to a stop. The distance it travels in that duration is referred to as the stopping distance.

Precautions:

1. When rounding down the ramp, make sure the car does not round off because it will make the
experiment more difficult to proceed.

2. After the car has stopped, make sure to mark the points of each material and label the distance
travelled. This will give you a visual representation of how each material’s stopping distance can
look by making comparisons.

Sources of Error:

1. The car can round off the ramp due to not having a flat surface when proceeding the
experiment.

2. Reaction time errors can occur due to use of a stopwatch when trying to record the time taken
for each material used. No matter how many attempts, the time taken will always be different
due to human reaction time.