Force and Acceleration

1. Initial setup.

1. The air track will have a pulley connected to one end. Tie the string to one end of the glider and run it through the pulley, where it will be connected to the hanging weight.
2. Place the glider at the 190-cm mark on the air track. Place the photogate timer at the 100-cm mark. The glider itself has a mass of 200 g. Hold onto the glider so that it does not move and add weights to the hanging end so that the total mass of the weight is equal to 10 g.
3. Once the weights are in place, release the glider from rest and record the velocity of the glider. Perform 5 runs and take the average value.
4. Calculate the theoretical value for acceleration using Equation 2 and the experimental value from Equation 3. For example, if the glider has mass of 200 g and the hanging weights have a mass 10 g, then the theoretical acceleration, from Equation 2, is  If the measured velocity is 0.95 m/s, then, using Equation 3, the experimental value for acceleration is

2. Increasing the mass of the glider.

1. Add four of the weights to the glider, which will double its mass.
2. Release the system from rest and record the velocity of the glider. Perform 5 runs and take the average value. Calculate the theoretical value for acceleration, from Equation 2, and the experimental value, from Equation 3.

3. Increasing the force on the glider.

1. Add more mass to the hanging weight so that it has a total mass of 20 g.
2. Release the system from rest and record the velocity of the glider. Perform 5 runs and take the average value.
3. Calculate the theoretical value for acceleration, from Equation 2, and the experimental value, from Equation 3.
4. Add more mass to the hanging weight so that it has a total mass of 50 g.
5. Release the system from rest and record the velocity of the glider. Perform 5 runs and take the average value.
6. Calculate the theoretical value for acceleration, from Equation 2, and the experimental value, from Equation 3.