Jenner Pomeroy
14 November 2014'
Mr. Uhrich
AP Physics
The Relationship Between Mass and Acceleration
Procedure:
Our groups task was to prove the relationship between mass and acceleration using the formula F=ma (force is equal to the mass times acceleration). We decided to have a constant force for this lab, we saw this as the easiest of the options. To eliminate any forces we used a flat surface with a smooth finish eliminating any friction force. In this lab we are in our physics vacuum, air resistance will not be a factor because air resistance is a small factor to such a large weight. Our materials for this project are a cart, various small gram weights, a Ipad app/device to gather acceleration information, a cart blocker, and a long sleek flat surface that combines with the cart. The first objective for our lab was to weigh the cart that we were using. The weight of the cart by itself was 496 grams . We ran a trial with just the cart's weight and found the average acceleration. We did this by rolling the cart down the ramp traveling for exactly one meter, where it is stopped by the cart blocker. As we continued our procedure we started to add on more and more weight for each added trial. We completed the lab using four different weights. The next to the procedure of the lab was to gather all the accelerations collected by our Ipad. We then graphed the information on Excel showing the correlation of mass and acceleration in F=ma.
Data:

496 grams (original