Forces: Using a Light gate and Spoked Pulley to investigate Newton’s 2nd Law (Atwood’s machine

 Connect the Light gate to input A on the EasySense data logger.  Check the exact weight of the masses on a good balance. The suggested masses to be used are 6 x 100 g and 10 x 10 g. a. Start with 3 x 100 g on both sides and all 10 of the 10 g masses on one side only. This will give a force of 0.1 x g N. b. The force is equal to the difference in mass between the two sets of masses expressed as kg.  Arrange the set up so the heavier mass hangs below the lighter mass - this will stop the masses clashing as they move. The lighter mass should be able to move at least 400 mm, the heavier mass should reach a

‘floor’ before the lighter mass has reached the pulley.  Open the EasySense program and select Timing. Select to record Acceleration at A using a Pulley.  Hold the masses in position, release and immediately select Start. Select Stop when the lighter mass reaches the pulley.  Select the suitable data, and use Show Statistics to find the average acceleration. Keep a record of this value.

 Transfer 10 g from the heavier mass to the 300 g mass and repeat (force = 0.08 x g N). The force is equal to the difference in mass between the two sets of masses expressed as kg.  Continue to repeat, transferring 10 g between each reading until the masses are equal.