Lab 2.1 Newton Rides a Bike: Newton's Second Law (20 points)

Question:
How is acceleration affected if either the mass of the system or the force used to pull the bike changes?
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Purpose:
In this lab students investigate how the acceleration of an object is related to its mass and the force exerted on the object, and use their experimental results to derive the mathematical form of Newton’s second law.

Science Practices:
  • 1.1 The student can create representations and models of natural or man-made phenomena and systems in the domain. 
  • 4.1 The student can justify the selection of the kind of data needed to answer a particular scientific question. 
  • 4.3 The student can collect data to answer a particular scientific question.
  • 5.1 The student can analyze data to identify patterns or relationships. 
  • 5.3 The student can evaluate the evidence provided by data sets in relation to a particular scientific question. 

Materials 
Required:

  • Dahon Folding Bicycle
  • Spring Scales
  • Bike Riders
  • Timing Devices
  • Black Gorilla Glue Duct Tape
  • Measuring Tape
Procedure: 
  • Lay down tape to identify every 5 meters
Trials 1 - 5:
  • Using the same bike and rider system (Chanel), Ms. Plant pulled Chanel with varying forces, ranging from 5 N - 50 N.
  • For each trial, timers timed the amount of time it took to reach their 5 m increment.
Trials 6 - 10:
  • Using the same force of 20 N, Ms. Plant pulled students with varying masses.
  • Timers timed the amount of time it took to reach their 5 m increment.

Lab Report:
You will write up this lab in a Google Docs document or another "sharable" digital format. 
The work which is documented should be clear enough that others can follow it, understand it and if necessary, repeat the experimental procedure so as to verify the results.  It is a public record which is documented with the expectation that others could understand it. The ability to thoroughly document and to keep clear, understandable records of one's work is a key skill that the professional scientist must develop.

The Data section should include an organized and labeled record of the measurements. Both measured and calculated data should be listed; work should be shown. The Conclusion/Discussion should identify the acceleration determined from each method. An error analysis should be performed; the accuracy and precision of each method should be compared; reasons for such conclusions should be explained.

Questions to be addressed in the Conclusion:
These questions address velocity vs. time graphs, so it may be a good idea to provide example graphs when answering these questions.
  1. What would the graph of the system's velocity vs. time look like?
  2. How will the graph of velocity vs. time differ if the mass of system increases?
  3. How will the graph of velocity vs. time differ if the Force of system increases?
  4. How will the graph of velocity vs. time differ if both the mass and the Force of system were doubled?
  5. How will the graph of velocity vs. time differ if the system were initially moving?

    Lab 2.1 Newton Rides a Bike​ (20 points)