Lab: Newton's 2nd Law Experiment (Crit B/C)

Newton's 2nd Law Lab
Newton's second law says that the acceleration of an object depends on the net forces acting on the object and the mass of the object. Newton found that a=F/m, or acceleration is directly porportional to force and inversely porportional to mass. 

Huh? I'll let an expert explain:

ADD A VIDEO TO EXPLAIN

0

Check for understanding. In his experiment, when the astronaut the mass of the object, that its acceleration.

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In the astronaut's experiment, identify the independent variable, the dependent variable and the constant:

Draggable item		Corresponding Item
The force of the bungee		Independent variable
The object (chapstick / spaceship / garbage bag)		Dependent variable
The acceleration of the object		Constant

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Imagine that the astronaut wanted to increase the acceleration of the chapstick. What would you tell him to do? (Hint: what's the other part of the F=ma equation?)

PART 1: Design your Experiment
Criteria B Grade, questions #4-11

Design a simple experiment using your car. Your goal is to test whether the relationship between force, mass and acceleration that Newton observed is true for your car. 

For your independent variable, you can choose whether you want to change:
 the mass (like the astronaut) by changing the weight to your car, 
or the force applied to your balloon/ rubber band car.  
You will then alter that variable at least twice to see how it affects the speed and distance your car travels. Speed and distance will be your dependent variables. 

1

Question.
Choose one of these questions. Select one that will be do-able for you to test with your car!
1. As I increase the mass of my car, how does that affect its speed and distance traveled?
2. As I increase the force applied to my car by the rubber band / balloon, how does that affect its speed and distance traveled?

What if my car doesn't work / broke / etc.? No worries, choose a solution that works for you:
Choice 1 - Can your car roll? Build a ramp for your car to roll down - use that as the force.
Choice 2 - Design a way to test your question with a toy car.
Choice 3 - Design an experiment, then work with a friend to collect data using their car.

Write the question you choose to investigate today.

2

Make a hypothesis.
Use your knowledge of Newton's 2nd law to predict what the answer will be to your question.

"If I , then."

1

Independent Variable.
Will you be changing mass or force?

2

Describe: how are you going to change this variable? (Hint: In the video, the astronaut changed the mass by using three objects with different masses. You'll use your car each time, so you will have to modify your car, or modify how you set it up!)

I will change the ... by ...

1

Dependent Variable.
What will you be measuring as you conduct your trials?

2

Constants.
To get valid results, you need to keep everything exactly the same except the independent variable (mass or force). For example, you'll want to use the same car for every test. That is one of the constants.

As you conduct your tests, list two more things you'll want to keep constant:

2

Material List.
Write a complete list of what you will need to conduct your experiment. For example, you might need:
My car
A flat runway - my bedroom floor
A measuring tape
A timer (use this link or a phone timer if you don’t have a stopwatch)
Quarters and tape to add mass to the car

5

Procedure.
Make a numbered list of how you will conduct your experiment. I'll be looking for your procedures to include enough detail that someone else could repeat it. You'll want to:
Describe how to set up your testing space
Describe your first test. Be specific. State how many trials (repetitions) you'll do. (I recommend 2 or 3).
Explain how you'll alter your independent variable and repeat the trials.
Include what data to collect and where you'll record it. (See below - I set that up for you).

PART 2: Test & Analyze
Criteria C Grade, questions #12-17
Carry out your experiment using the procedures above. Be careful to control your constants, and to record your data!

Record your data on this Google Sheet template: 
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18Fg2lsa3XFoViyJwo9ybegEaUz5J3jQhOpeEEJFkU8g/template/preview 

Here's how:
1. Open the sheet. You'll use the green & yellow data table to add your results!
2. Rename "variable 1 2 3" cells with the your independent variable. (Example: 10 cm balloon / 15 cm balloon / 20 cm balloon. Or: No added mass / 5 quarters added / 10 quarters added)
3. As you test, input your time and distance data under trials 1, 2, and 3 (or however many you did). Just put the number, no units, and round to tenths (just "3.2" for 3.21 meters)  
4. The averages should automatically calculate in the blue table, and the graph should automatically be made. 
5. Rename the graph title to match your experiment, and make sure everything looks right! Ask for help!

3

Take a screenshot of both data tables from the google sheet and paste it into the whiteboard (insert image using the picture icon)

2

Take a screenshot of the graph from the google sheet and paste it into the whiteboard (insert image using the picture icon).

1

Conclusion
Claim:
Restate your hypothesis from above (#5) & state whether it was correct.
"My hypothesis that ... was correct/incorrect."

4

Evidence:
What facts from your experiment back up your claim? Cite at least three specific pieces of quantitative data from your data table about the time and distance your car traveled as you changed the mass or force.

4

Reasoning:
Did your results show the relationship you expected based on Newton's second law? If so, explain. If not or partly, what could explain your results?
This matched Newton's observation that... because... / This didn't match Newton's third law that... / This could be explained by...

2

Extension Question:
If your goal is to have your car travel as fast and far as possible, what is one thing you learned from your experiment that you could use for our final competition?

0

You did it!
This lab combined so many of the science skills from 7th grade. Check the skills you think you demonstrated well with this lab. Leave it blank if you aren't sure about a skill.

Newton's 2nd Law Lab

Check for understanding. In his experiment, when the astronaut ____ the mass of the object, that ____ its acceleration.

In the astronaut's experiment, identify the independent variable, the dependent variable and the constant:

Imagine that the astronaut wanted to increase the acceleration of the chapstick. What would you tell him to do? (Hint: what's the other part of the F=ma equation?)

PART 1: Design your Experiment

Make a hypothesis. Use your knowledge of Newton's 2nd law to predict what the answer will be to your question."If I ____, then____."

Independent Variable.Will you be changing mass or force?

Describe: how are you going to change this variable? (Hint: In the video, the astronaut changed the mass by using three objects with different masses. You'll use your car each time, so you will have to modify your car, or modify how you set it up!)I will change the ... by ...

Dependent Variable.What will you be measuring as you conduct your trials?

Constants.To get valid results, you need to keep everything exactly the same except the independent variable (mass or force). For example, you'll want to use the same car for every test. That is one of the constants. As you conduct your tests, list two more things you'll want to keep constant:

Material List. Write a complete list of what you will need to conduct your experiment. For example, you might need:My carA flat runway - my bedroom floorA measuring tape A timer (use this link or a phone timer if you don’t have a stopwatch)Quarters and tape to add mass to the car

PART 2: Test & Analyze

Take a screenshot of both data tables from the google sheet and paste it into the whiteboard (insert image using the picture icon)

Take a screenshot of the graph from the google sheet and paste it into the whiteboard (insert image using the picture icon).

ConclusionClaim: Restate your hypothesis from above (#5) & state whether it was correct. "My hypothesis that ... was correct/incorrect."

Conclusion

Evidence: What facts from your experiment back up your claim? Cite at least three specific pieces of quantitative data from your data table about the time and distance your car traveled as you changed the mass or force.

Reasoning: Did your results show the relationship you expected based on Newton's second law? If so, explain. If not or partly, what could explain your results?This matched Newton's observation that... because... / This didn't match Newton's third law that... / This could be explained by...

Extension Question: If your goal is to have your car travel as fast and far as possible, what is one thing you learned from your experiment that you could use for our final competition?

You did it!This lab combined so many of the science skills from 7th grade. Check the skills you think you demonstrated well with this lab. Leave it blank if you aren't sure about a skill.

Check for understanding. In his experiment, when the astronaut the mass of the object, that its acceleration.

Make a hypothesis.
Use your knowledge of Newton's 2nd law to predict what the answer will be to your question.

"If I , then."

Independent Variable.
Will you be changing mass or force?

Describe: how are you going to change this variable? (Hint: In the video, the astronaut changed the mass by using three objects with different masses. You'll use your car each time, so you will have to modify your car, or modify how you set it up!)

I will change the ... by ...

Dependent Variable.
What will you be measuring as you conduct your trials?

Constants.
To get valid results, you need to keep everything exactly the same except the independent variable (mass or force). For example, you'll want to use the same car for every test. That is one of the constants.

As you conduct your tests, list two more things you'll want to keep constant:

Material List.
Write a complete list of what you will need to conduct your experiment. For example, you might need:
My car
A flat runway - my bedroom floor
A measuring tape
A timer (use this link or a phone timer if you don’t have a stopwatch)
Quarters and tape to add mass to the car

Conclusion
Claim:
Restate your hypothesis from above (#5) & state whether it was correct.
"My hypothesis that ... was correct/incorrect."

Evidence:
What facts from your experiment back up your claim? Cite at least three specific pieces of quantitative data from your data table about the time and distance your car traveled as you changed the mass or force.

Reasoning:
Did your results show the relationship you expected based on Newton's second law? If so, explain. If not or partly, what could explain your results?
This matched Newton's observation that... because... / This didn't match Newton's third law that... / This could be explained by...

Extension Question:
If your goal is to have your car travel as fast and far as possible, what is one thing you learned from your experiment that you could use for our final competition?

You did it!
This lab combined so many of the science skills from 7th grade. Check the skills you think you demonstrated well with this lab. Leave it blank if you aren't sure about a skill.