Shelby Musselman

Work Lab Report

ENME 1030-L
Experiment performed: 11/03/16
Due Date: 11/17/16

Group Members:
Madison Chan
Christopher Davis
Nathan Stine

Purpose:
The purpose of this lab is to determine to work done using a motion detector and a force
sensor by looking at the graphs from Logger Pro on a hanging mass and a spring, and the
purpose is to find the Potential Energy and Spring Constant from the graphs.
Theory:
Work is a measure of energy transfer. Work can only be done on an object, if force is
applied on an object along or against the objects motion. Work can be calculated if the force is
constant and in the same direction as the objects path by using
W =F s .
F is the constant force being done on the object and s is the displacement of the object.
Total work can be calculated when force is not constant by dividing up the displacement into
segments. The work for each segment can be calculated using the above equation. The total work
for the entire displacement is the amount of work done over each segment added together:
W = F ( s ) s
The work-energy theorem relates work done to the change in energy. W is work done,
PE

is the change in potential energy and KE is the change in kinetic energy. This

experiment is used to find the relationship between these energies and work.
W = PE+ KE

1 2
PE= k x
2
The elastic potential energy stored by a spring can be found in the equation directly
above. Hookes law finds the force applied by the spring over distance x. k is the spring constant.
F=kx

Apparatus:
The items being used in this a lab are: a computer, Vernier computer interface, Logger
Pro, a motion detector, a force sensor, two masses (500 g and 200 g), a spring, and a basket to
protect the motion detector.
Procedure:
Hook up the motion detector and force sensor to the computer in order for data to be
collected properly. For part 1 of this lab, place the motion sensor on the floor with the basket
over it. Then take the force sensor and hang a 200 g mass from is. Hold the force sensor with the
mass on it above the motion detector. Press collect to begin collecting data, and slowly raise the
force sensor with the mass attached about half a meter straight up from the motion detector.
Record the stopping time by looking at the graph of force vs. time, and then go to the position vs.
time graph and find the height at that time. Record these in the data tables. Force can be found
from the force vs. time graph by clicking the statistics button and pressing average. This will
provide the average force.
For part 2, work to stretch a spring will be found. Attach one end of the spring to a
support, and hook the force sensor into the other end of the spring. Make sure when resting the
force sensor on the table that the spring is not applying any force. Place the motion detector
about one meter from the force sensor. Click collect and wait a couple seconds then pull the force
sensor towards the motion detector slowly (30 cm). By looking at the position vs. time graph and
the force vs. time graph, identify when the pull on the spring began and when the pull ended.
Record these times in the data tables. Click the linear fit button on the force vs. position graph to
determine the slope of this graph, this is the spring constant k. Record the slope and intercept in

the data tables. The area under the force vs. position graph is the work done to stretch the spring.
Record this in the tables. Find the work and record for 0-10 cm, 0-20 cm, and 0-30 cm.
Results:

Part 1
Time
Position
(s)
(m)
1.50
0.01
5.78
0.27

Start Moving
Stop Moving
Average Force (N)
Work done (J)
Integral (during lift):
force vs. position
(N*m)
PE (J)
% Error Integral &
PE

2.45
0.64
0.63
0.51
19.13%

Part II

Start Moving
Stop Moving

Time
Position
(s)
(m)
0.1
0.011
8.1
0.416

Spring constant (N/m)

5.048

10
Integral (during pull)
(N*m)
PE (J)
% Error Integral &
PE

0.046
0.025
45.38
%

Stretch (cm)
20

30

0.149
0.101

0.301
0.227

32.29%

24.53%

Position vs. time graph for part 1

Force vs. time graph for part 1

Force vs. position graph for part 1

Force vs. time graph for part 2

Position vs. time graph for part 2

Force vs. position graph for part 2

Discussion of Results/ Analysis:

The increase in gravitational potential energy compared to the average work in part 1 can
be found in the above graphs for part 1 in the section with PE ( J ) . The value is 0.51. The
work done on the mass corresponds to the change in gravitational potential energy, and it should
because work is the change in energy. The spring constant is 5.048 N/m. The spring will not
always follow Hookes law because there will be a point where the spring is fully stretched, and
the force will then be a tension force. The spring for now followed Hookes law, but the slope is
positive on our graphs because the work measured was done by the hand pulling the spring, not
the spring itself. The work done by the hand was in equal magnitude and opposite direction of

the spring. The values of the spring constant are similar, but there is a large margin of error, but
the error becomes smaller over larger distances of x.
Conclusion:
To conclude, in this lab work was determined using a motion detector and a force sensor
by looking at the graphs from Logger Pro on a hanging mass and a spring, and the Potential
Energy and Spring Constant were found from the graphs. The relationship between work and
energy could be easily observed from this lab because work is the change in energy.

Appendix
Recommendation:
Next time, please provide an outline for this report because I did not include a data
section because I believed all of my graphs pertained to the information I needed to provide in
my analysis.