Melissa Quick

Phys. 300L

Lab: Action and Reaction (Newtons Laws)

Purpose:
The purpose of this lab is to demonstrate two of Newtons Laws. One
being Newtons third law that sates For every action there is an equal
and opposite reaction. We call this the Action- Reaction Law. The
next is Newtons Second law of motion, stating, The relationship
between an objects mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F
is F=ma. Acceleration and force are vectors; in this law the direction of
the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration
vector.
Material & Equipment:
For this lab we needed a Balloon, a small straw cut into a short 2 inch
piece, tape, mono-filament (fishing line) pennies (10 in total), and
other coins to use as masses, we used Yen.
Introduction:
In this lab we will look into these two laws of Newton, Action- Reaction,
and look to see the relationship between mass, net force, and
acceleration of an object.
Procedure:
First we collected all the material we needed for this lab. The straws
were pre- cut of us, along with the fishing line being pre tied for us. We
then blew up the balloon and we marked it with an outline of pennies,
that way the following time we did this experiment we would blow the
balloon up to the same size. As I held the balloon, my lab partner
strung the straw onto the fishing line. Then once it was strung on the
line we taped the straw to the balloon, and taped five pennies to the
bottom of the balloon as well. We then held the balloon and line level
and then let go of the blown up balloon. We watched as the balloon let
out air and traveled the opposite direction of the air being released. We
then repeated this process with ten pennies taped to the bottom of the
balloon. This time, the balloon traveled slower then the first time with
only five pennies. We repeated this process a third time but instead of
pennies we taped ten Yen to the balloon. The third time the balloon
traveled faster then both the first and second time, due to the Yen
weighing less then the pennies.
Balloon Carrying
Traveled at What Speed
Description
5 Pennies
Quickly across the fishing line at a

10 Pennies
10 Yen

steady pace.
Less quickly across the fishing line
then with five pennies, but still at
a steady pace.
Quicker then both, 5 pennies, and
10 pennies, at a steady pace.

Results & Conclusion:

The results show that five pennies taped to the balloon travels quicker
then the balloon with ten pennies tapped to it. However the balloon
with ten Yen taped to it moved faster then both the balloon with five
pennies and the balloon with ten pennies. From this data we can come
to the conclusion that first, with a greater weight on the balloon it will
travel slower then with less weight on the balloon. Which is described
in Newtons Second Law showing the relationship between mass, net
force and acceleration of an object. We also came to the conclusion
that the Yen is at least the weight of one pennies because with ten
Yen it still traveled quicker then with five pennies. The balloon traveling
across the fishing line until out of air, demonstrates Newtons third law,
for every action there is a greater and opposite reaction. Letting out
the air caused the balloon to travel the opposite direction until it was
out of air.
Questions
1) Explain how swimmers propel themselves forward in terms of action
and reaction?
The cupping of the water you pull back when you swim propels you
forward.
The action is pushing the water backwards, and the reaction is the
swimmer being propelled forward.
2) How does a jet plane manage to go forward?
The jet pulls in air, and then at a quicker speed it pushed out air, and
the air pushes or propels the jet. Jet pushes air & air pushes jet.
3) Explain in terms of the action-reaction law the reason why firemen
have difficulty holding on to the nozzle of a hose when water is gushing
out at high speeds. What is providing the action force pushing the
water out? What is the reaction force?
The fireman have a hard time holding onto the hose when water is
gushing out at high speeds because the acceleration of the water
leaving the hose.