S8 Newton's second law · MVTTC Virtual Lab

Experiment workspace

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Tip: press Release. The light gate stops the clock when the trolley passes.

Trolley mass M

Hanging mass m

Same total mass, different force

Run

Friction compensated Slow motion

Big question: how does the pulling force change the acceleration of a trolley?

Make a prediction

A trolley is pulled by a hanging mass. We double the pulling force, but keep the total mass the same (by moving masses from the trolley to the hanger).

The acceleration will…

Release and time

The clock starts when you release the trolley and stops at the light gate, s = 0.80 m away.

Pulling force F = m g

Time to the gate

Speed now

Recorded readings

0 readings

No.	M kg	m kg	F N	s m	t s	a m/s²

Leave a empty. Work it out: a = 2 s ÷ t². Then plot a against F.

Force, mass and acceleration

From rest: s = ½ a t², so a = 2 s ÷ t². Newton's second law: F = (M + m) × a.

Worked solution (7 steps)

Record readings to see your graph of a against F.

Check yourself

A 2 N force acts on a 0.5 kg trolley (no friction). What is the acceleration?

Predict the acceleration

Friction is compensated. Work out a, type it, then the trolley is released to test you. Three rounds.

Score: 0 / 3

Runs offline. No trainee data is stored or sent. MVTTC · GST 04102 · S8 v1.0 · three.js (MIT licence).

Point at	the trolley, the pulley or the light gate to see what it is
Space	release the trolley, or bring it back
← →	move 50 g from the hanger to the trolley, or back
R	record a reading
1 2 3	camera views
F M H	full view, sound on/off, this help
Phone	one finger turns the view, two fingers zoom

Experiment workspace

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How to use this lab

Same total mass, different force

Run