Trolly Experiment

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Data Analysis Coursework

I am going to investigate the relationship between the velocity of a moving object, and the distance it travels down a ramp, using secondary data obtained by a class experiment.

The apparatus was set up as shown above and illustrates a runaway vehicle down a hill. The light gate was placed at several points along the slope and measured the velocity of the card passing through it.

The trolley, of mass 1000g (1kg), was released 126cm up the slope from front of the card. The palm top then measured the time it took for the whole piece of card to pass through the light gate.

Once this was done the light gate was moved down the slope by 10cm at a time and again recorded the time it took for the card to pass through the light gate. This was carried out for 8 different locations. Each location’s time was repeated to end up with 3 readings. The average of these could then be taken and used as the time it took for the card to pass through the light gate.

To reduce the fiction of the wheel axis on the trolley, I have sprayed it with a lubricant (WD40).

The results I have been given are as follows:

I have decided to make a preliminary graph to show my expected results.

The graph above shows that as the slope distance increases the velocity of the trolley must increase. This can be seen in the fact that the time it takes to pass through the light gate decreases. It can also be said that there is a greater change in velocity at the start of the ramp than at the end, which can be seen due to the fact that the gradient becomes shallower. This must mean that there is a larger force opposing the trolley as it picks up speed and could be due to air resistance.

In order to calculate velocity and other such information about the trolley I will use the SUVAT equations as well as Newton’s Second Law. This will enable me to make sense of the data that I am provided with, which includes the time it takes for the card to pass through the light gate and the slope distance. Below are shown the formulae I will use.

  1. a = (v-u)/ t                                                                        a = Acceleration
  2. v2 = u2 + 2as                                                                        v = Final Velocity
  3. s = ut + ½at2                                                                        u = Initial Velocity
  4. s = ½(v + u)t                                                                        s = Distance
  5. v = u + at                                                                        t = Time
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As well as this I can use Newton’s Second Law to Model the Particle, in order to find out friction etc.

Newton’s second law states, ‘The Force, F, applied to a particle is proportional to the mass, m, of the particle and the acceleration produced.’   

This can then be represented by the equation F = ma.

In order to model the trolley I must know the acceleration. I will therefore use the SUVAT equations first.

Firstly, I shall work out is the time that the trolley took to reach the ...

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