Required Practical

Question 1

How can you set up a method to investigate the motion of an object

Answer 1

• Set up a trolley that holds a peice of card that has a gap in the middle that will stop the signal on the light gate twice .
• Connect the trolley to a peice of string that goes over the other side of the table and is connected to a hook which has a known mass attached to it
• The weight og the hook and any mass attached provides the accelerating force. It accelerates both the trolley and the mass
• Mark a starting line on the table the trolley is on .so that the distance the trolley travels to the light gate is always the same .
• place the trolley on the starting linw , holding the hook so the spring is taut (not loose ) and release the string
• Record the acceleration measured by the light gate as the trolley travels through it and note this down in your table
• Repeat the experiment twice to get your average acceleration .
• Then repeat the experiment with different masses to see how this affects the accleration of the trolley

Question 2

How can you investigate the effect of mass

Answer 2

To investigate the effect of mass, add masses to the trolley one at a time so increase the mass of the system. Dont add masses to the hook as this changes the force. Record your results at each mass

Question 3

How can you investigate the effect of force

Answer 3

To investigate the effect the force, you keep ten total mass the same but change the mass on yhe hook. Start with the same masses loaded onto the trolley and transfer masses one at a yime to the hook to increase the accelerating force.The total mass of the system stays the same. Record the average acceleration for each force

Question 4

How do you investigate the affect of force on springs

Answer 4

• Measure the natural length of the spring with a milimetre ruler attactched to a clamp stand. Measure from eye level and add marker to see more clearly
• Add a mass to the spring and alow it to come to rest . Record the mass and the new length of the spring . The extension is the change in the springs length
• Repeat the experiment until you have enough results ( at least 6)

Question 5

How long should the string be for the F=mxa required practical

Answer 5

The string should be just long enough so your trolley goes throught the second photogate / lightgate before your masses hit the floor

-If the string was too long the masses would hit the floor before the trolley has reached the second photogate / the lightgate and therefore the trolley would have stopped accelerating alreday before reachibg the second lightgate