Trolley Investigation

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GCSE Physics

Trolley Investigation

Choosing a Variable

Before I begin the investigation, I must first decide which variable I should investigate.

Variables can be divided into 2 major groups: dependant variables and independent variables. In measuring the behaviour of a trolley the dependant variable is speed. This is because the speed will change when other variables are changed.

An independent variable is a variable which cannot be affected by other variables. There are many independent variables in measuring the behaviour of a trolley and I must first assess which one would be a suitable one to investigate:

* Shape of the trolley- the shape and aerodynamics of the trolley can affect its motion behaviour. This is because the trolley is affected by air resistance and certain shapes are more air resistant than others. This would be a difficult variable to investigate because we would be limited by the number of shapes we could use. It would be difficult to plot the results in the form of a line graph.

* Gradient of ramp- gradient of the ramp affects the motion of the trolley because as the gradient gets larger the height