Unit 3 Physics Lab

By Beth Ducharme
Purpose:
The purpose is testing the effects of a cart rolling down a ramp on its total mechanical energy,
kinetic energy, and gravitational potential energy. Additionally, to identify the connections
between the various forms of energies and the cart's position.
Hypothesis:
The cart will have the maximum gravitational potential energy if it is at rest at the top of the
ramp. The cart will have its maximum kinetic energy just before it comes to rest at the end of
the ramp. According to the conservation of energy principle, the cart has its maximum potential
energy at the top of the ramp when it is at rest, and its maximum kinetic energy is just before it
stops at the bottom, which this equals the cart's total mechanical energy. The gravitational
potential energy at the start of the ramp will remain constant if the height of the location at which
the cart is released does not change, and the theoretical velocity will stay constant throughout the
system.

Variables:
Controlled: The position of the ramp, the ramp itself, and where the cart was released
Manipulated: The height of the cart after released at the top of the ramp
Responding: The kinetic energy and the gravitational potential energy

Equipment/Materials:
Refer to lab sheet
Procedure:
Refer to lab sheet

Observations
Trial # Change in Theoretical Distance Experimental % Efficiency
height Final between Final
Velocity ticker tape Velocity
dots
1 0.071m 1.2m/s 0.019m 1.1m/s 3.4%
2 0.071m 1.2m/s 0.017m 1.0m/s 14%
3 0.071m 1.2m/s 0.016m 0.96m/s 19%
Average 0.071m 1.2m/s 0.0173m 1.0m/s 12%
Error:
Systematic errors, such as misreading measurements and not being able to read the precise
number for the change in height or the spacing between the ticker tape dots, are among the many
different types of error. Instrumental uncertainties, like a ticker tape timer gone incorrectly,
might be one source of mistake. The force of friction opposing the cart's speed and converting
some of its kinetic energy into heat energy could have been another source of inaccuracy.
Analyze and Evaluate:
a).
In this experiment, the kinetic and gravitational potential energies are directly correlated with the
cart's position, while the system's total mechanical energy is independent of position. The cart's
position immediately affects the gravitational potential energy. When the cart in the experiment
was set free to start moving down the ramp, it possessed the highest gravitational potential
energy as it was at its maximum height away from the desk. Since the cart was not yet in motion,
the object at this point just possessed gravitational potential energy. As a result, as the cart down
the ramp, gravitational force dropped as height did. The cart's location has an impact on the
kinetic energy. The position didn't change over time because there was no kinetic energy before
the cart released because it's not moving. The cart had its maximum kinetic energy and zero
gravitational potential energy when it reached the bottom of the ramp. Prior to the cart being
released, its kinetic energy at the bottom of the ramp and its gravitational potential energy at the
top of the ramp were equal, according to knowledge of the conservation of energy theory.
Following the cart's release from the top of the ramp, its kinetic energy rose until it reached its
maximum value at the bottom of the ramp before coming to a stop as the gravitational potential
energy reduced. Lastly, even if the cart moves around the ramp, the total mechanical energy
remains constant.
b).
Friction affects the different forms of energy in an experiment in a variety of ways.
Because gravitational potential energy is a source of potential energy related to height in the verti
cal direction, it was unaffected by friction during the experiment.
Some kinetic energy can be converted into heat energy by this opposition.The block is moving d
own the ramp, turning kinetic energy into thermal energy, and this motion is being opposed by th
e force of friction. The system lost kinetic energy because of the negative work of friction. As a
result, the system’s initial gravitational potential energy is equal to its end kinetic energy is less
than the friction’s negative work on the system.
c).
My hypothesis was proven due to my knowledge of the subject. Since I used the conservation of
energy equation to compute the velocity, the theoretical velocity remained constant throughout
every trial. I am aware that the total mechanical energy would be the same at the beginning and
the end of the experiment. I also realized that the total mechanical energy would only comprise
the gravitational potential energy because the cart was at its highest position and immobile at the
beginning of the trial. Likewise, I realized that the cart's total mechanical energy would only
comprise its kinetic energy because it was not raised over the reference point and continued to
move as the trial came to an end.
d).
The system had only gravitational potential energy at the start of the experiment because it was
stationary and positioned above the reference point. The height then started to drop when the cart
was released from the top of the ramp, which in turn reduced the gravitational potential energy.
The cart's motion then began to accelerate as it descended the ramp, increasing the kinetic energy
as a result. The kinetic energy was equal to the gravitational potential energy at the ramp's base,
and the gravitational potential energy was zero at the ramp's bottom. As the cart moved down the
slope, some of its kinetic energy was converted to heat energy by the frictional opposing force.
e).
 The mechanical energy at position one, where the ramp started, was more than the mechanical
energy at position two. A portion of the system's energy was converted into energy, including
heat and sound.
f).
Among the many other sorts of inaccuracies are systematic errors, which include misreading
measurements, not being able to read the correct number for the change in height, and not
knowing the exact spacing between the ticker tape dots. Another possible source of error was the
frictional force resisting the cart's motion and transforming some of its kinetic energy into heat
energy. Also, one possible source of error could be mechanical uncertainties, such as a ticker
tape timer used wrongly