Magnets Lab

The pendulum was pulled to about 15 cm from the motion detector. In case of the mass on a spring, the mass was pulled till just a few inches away from the motion detector.

Before we did trials on the second day Taylor and I both realized that the front right wheel on our car was rubbing against the frame, therefore slowing it down. So we used the pliers to cut off a little bit of the frame in front of the wheel so it would have room to spin. Then we began our last set of trials.After Taylor and I finished these trials we

ground, so it accelerates. If the track tilts up, gravity applies a downward force on the back of the

The object furthest to the right is the motion detector that will measure the object's position and time and send it to the LabQuest. The object to the far left is the stopper that will stop the cart after it has completed its run. The materials we needed to complete this lab was a motion detector, a cart, ruler, cart track, and LabQuest. The motion detector measured the time as soon as the cart was set in motion and delivered the data to the LabQuest. The cart was used to measure the velocity for each run. The cart track was the medium we used to push the cart down and collect

13. Use the ruler to measure the length, width, and height of the magnet in centimeters. Record the measurements in Data Table 5.

3. Test the effect of a magnet on each substance by passing the magnet under

spring scale again. With your hand at the top of the ramp, pull the mass

Using Vernier, we clicked collect while releasing the cart after motion detector starts to click. This was done moving the hand quickly out the path. Using logger pro, indicated which portion was to be used by dragging across the graph to indicate the starting and ending times. Then the linear button was clicked to perform the linear regression of the selected data. The Linear Button was used to determine the slope of the velocity vs. time graph, only using the portion of the data for times when the cart was freely rolling. We found the acceleration of the cart from the fitted line. Record the value in the data table. These steps where repeated 5 mores times. Measured the length of the incline, x which is the distance between the two points of the ramp. Measure the height, h, the height of the book(s). The last two measurements was used determine the angle of the incline. Raise the incline by placing a second book under the end. Adjust the book so that distance, x, is the same as the previous reading. Repeated these steps with 3, 4 and 5 books.

We experienced the effects of pushes and pulls in Activity 2 when we played around with the carts on the track. We noticed in experiment #1 that it doesn’t matter if you push or pull the cart to get it moving. We were also able to identify that when we gave the cart a second push it would speed up. In Activity 3 we messed around with the friction pads on the carts to show that the cart will slow down when there is a force acting in the opposite direction. When we tapped the cart the other way, there was also either a change in directions or a decrease in speed.

One of the most fun projects this year, building mousetrap racers. With this project, however, challenges arose. Attaching the wheels to the axles, for example, presented a major problem. The dowel used was .75 inch and was too large to fit in the center of the DVD. Using washers and bolts was thought of, but they proved to be too heavy. In the end, bottle caps and screws worked to secure the wheels to the axles. The bottle caps were wide enough that when fitted against the DVD they wouldn't go through the hole. Another challenge was placing the mouse trap as far from the drive axle as possible without impeding the car’s movement. So an arm extension on the mousetrap was not constructed so upon snapping it would not hit the front axle.

section of track and bridged the gap with wire to disable the electronic warning system.

The data logger was then set up and connected to the track and motion sensors. Three tests were conducted they were with neodymium magnets, Velcro and nothing. The data logger was activated and one cart pushed with enough momentum to hit the other cart and keep going to the other end. The results that the data logger recorded were saved and the two carts were set up again. This was repeated three times, for each test.

Reasoning: In the beginning, the two opposite poles of the magnet were facing each other causing them to pull together. When the top magnet was turned over, two same poles were facing each other causing them to repel each other. since the bottom magnet could not move away because of the platform and the pole, the top magnet had to be the one to move. the top ring/ magnet could not move to the side because of the pole or down because of the magnetic force pushing against it, so it could only move upward. it did so until

Controlled Variable – Same amount of air resistant (stay in the same room), same surface of what the trolley is going to accelerate on, same trolley, have the string equally stretched out every time and same tick rate of the ticker timer. The controlled variable will be controlled to create a fair test.

On the graph there are some minor anomalous results such as trial 3 of mass 200 gram, where the acceleration is 0.2m/s^2 closer to the 500 gram average then the average of the two other trials for 200 g force. Outlier could be caused by multiple factors such as incorrect or inconsistent method of dropping the weight or the miss positioning of the trolley creating an awkward starting angle and direction.