Finding the relationship

between force and acceleration

This experiment uses a datalogger and light gates

A computer measures the time for a card on a

trolley to move through two light gates
 T1 is thegate
Velocity time1 it=takes for the
20 / 0.51 interrupt
= 39.2 cm/s
card togate
Velocity go through
2 = 20 /the first
0.36 = light
55.6 gate
cm/s
T2 is the time
Acceleration it takes in velocity / time
= change T1 = 0.51 s
for the second gate T2 = 0.36 s
Acceleration = (55.6Ready – 39.2) / 0.72
Light gates T3 = 0.72 s
T3 is20thecmtime
Acceleration = taken
wide16.4 / for the
0.72 = trolley
22.8 to 2
cm/s
interrupt
travel fromcard
one gate to the next

Trolley Load
weight
An extra load is then added and the
acceleration measured again
This is repeated to form a table of T1 = 0.80 s
force and acceleration Acceleration
T2 = 0.55 s
= 27.4 cm/s
T3 = 1.21 s
2

A graph of force against acceleration

can then be plotted
Plot a graph of force (up) against acceleration (along)
Write a conclusion explaining what the graph shows
Force / N Acceleration
m / s2
0 0
0.5 0.25

1.0 0.51
1.5 0.76
2.0 0.99
2.5 1.26
3.0 1.5