Relationship between mass of cart, mass on a pulley and resulting acceleration

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on the mathematical relationship between the mass of a cart and the mass on a pulley, specifically how these variables affect acceleration. The experiment involved a cart with varying masses (500g to 1500g) and the corresponding slopes of acceleration graphs were calculated, revealing a decreasing trend in acceleration as cart mass increased. The relevant equation derived from Newton's second law is a = F/m, where F represents the gravitational force acting on the pulley. The relationship indicates that as the mass of the cart increases, the acceleration decreases, and this can be quantified by the factor k^(-1) when mass is increased by a factor of k.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Newton's laws of motion, particularly the second law.
  • Basic knowledge of gravitational force calculations (G = g * m).
  • Ability to interpret and analyze graphical data related to acceleration.
  • Familiarity with slope calculations in the context of physics experiments.
NEXT STEPS
  • Explore the implications of Newton's second law in different physical systems.
  • Learn how to derive equations from experimental data in physics.
  • Investigate the effects of varying mass on acceleration in pulley systems.
  • Study the concept of force and mass ratios in relation to acceleration changes.
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Students studying physics, particularly those focusing on mechanics and the principles of motion, as well as educators seeking to enhance their understanding of experimental physics involving pulleys and mass relationships.

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1. So the problem is rather simple. And the descriptive solution is a piece of cake. But I need help finding the mathematical relationship that exists between the mass of the pulley, mass of the cart, and the acceleration. In other words our lab consisted of a cart which had a mass of 500 grams. We had to see what happened to the acceleration when the mass on the pulley increased. Obviously the acceleration increased so when graphed with acceleration on the y-axis and mass of the pulley on the x-axis the line is going in the positive direction. As you can see I can describe what happens when we vary these different variables but I don't know the equation my teacher wants. He said for me to find the slope of each of my graphs. So I did that- for the graph with the cart of 500 grams it has a slope of .00604, for the cart with 600 grams it has a slope of .00572, for the cart of 700 grams it has a slope of .00558. For the cart of 1000 grams it has a slope of .00469. Lastly the cart with 1500 grams has a slope of .00368. As you can see it decreases as the mass of the cart increases. Now how do i incorporate that slope into a mathematical equation to show the relationship. Please help! thanks ( by the way its due tomorrow!)
 
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Just to add to what is already stated we are currently learning about Newton's three laws so possibly his second law is involved ( net force = mass times a) I just don't know how. I have been thinking for about an hour with no progress
 
i know your not supposed to bump but this is killing? what could the equation possibly be. Acceleration decreases as mass of cart increases or acceleration increases as mass of pulley increases. How does that translate to an equation
 
incase you still haven't figuired it out;

a=F/m

if F (G, the weight of the pulley being pulled down by gravity) stays constant and m increases the a will decrease. You can find G by g*m (9,81 m/s*s times the mass of the pulley).

If you want the ratio between increase in mass and decrease in acceleration: If you increase the mass by factor of k, then the acceleration will "increase" (actually decrease) by a factor of k^(-1).
 

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