Physics 105

February 26, 2003

Today we will continue our focus on the scientific method. We will measure the acceleration of masses connected to an Atwood's machine. Based on your observations you are expected to obtain a theoretical relation between the acceleration of the system and the masses connected to the pulley. The relation will be of the following form:

a = f(M1,M2) g

where a is the measured acceleration, g is the acceleration of gravity (= 9.8 m/s^2), and f(M1,M2) is a function that depends on the masses of the objects connected to the pulley.

To carry out this experiment, open experiment P13 in you handout folder. You have until the end of the class to work on this experiment. At the end of the class I would like to receive from each of you the following information:

1. Summary of your observations (use the table format that you can find as part of the WEB pages describing this experiment).
2. Your predicted relation between the measured acceleration and the masses connected to the pulley.
3. A comparison between the predictions made on the basis of your theoretical relation and the measured values.

© Frank L. H. Wolfs, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA

Last updated on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 14:45