Experiment 2

Force to Move Objects from Rest

Physicist Symone Gladden

Physicist Yanique Tomlinson

Physicist Darren Gibson

April 10,2008

Sec. 11-1

Objective: Is the force required to move an object from rest different from the force required to keep an object moving?

Hypothesis: The force to move an object from rest is more difficult than keeping an object moving.

Materials: Hall’s cart, wooden board, string, a 200 mg weight, a ruler

Procedure: 1. Cut a piece of string about 8” long. Tie one end to the front of the Hall’s cart and tie a loop in the free end.

2. Put the 200 gram mass in the cart.

3. Push the cart back and forth on the table and think about the problem statement. Do you think the force required to move the cart from rest is the same, less than, or greater than the force required to keep the cart moving? Write down this hypothesis before you begin the procedure.

4. Zero the spring scale and attach the hook on the spring scale to the string loop on the cart.

5. Tug on the spring scale several times to start the cart moving from rest. Note and record the spring scale reading each time.

6. Now jerk on the spring scale several times to rapidly start the cart from moving from rest. Note and record the spring scale readings.

7. Finally, pull the cart across the table or floor at a constant speed several times. Note and record the spring scale reading each time. Try this step again, pulling the cart at a faster speed and record your results.

8. Analyze your results. Which takes more force, to start an object from moving from rest or to keep and object moving? Which takes more force to start an object moving slowly or to start it moving quickly? Was your hypothesis correct? Does the cart follow Newton’s first law for a body at rest?

Data:

The objective of this experiment was to see if the force to move the cart from rust is the same, led than, is greater than the force required to keep the cart moving. First we jerked the spring scale several times to rapidly to start the cart moving from rest. We did this four times to see what our resdults would be. Next we pulled the cart across the table at a constant speed several times. After that we pulled at a faster speed. This helped us prove that the force to move a object from rest needs more force than to keep an object moving.

My hypothesis was correct. You would need a greater force because the cart is already stationary. I would have tried to make the speeds more accurate to improve the experiment. I learned how to measure speed in newtons per grans, I also learned how to put together a experiment to prove my hypothesis was correct.