Dorian “Durian” Alexie

Period 4
11/22/14
Section 1: INTRODUCTION

TITLE: Forces And Motion On Ramp Phet Lab

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this lab is to understand forces and motion through the use of an online ramp
simulation, along with the completion of various examples.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED: Computer with Internet access to the PhET interactive simulations website

PROCEDURE:

Go to http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/ramp-forces-and-motion

1. Draw the Free Body Diagram (a picture showing the forces on the crate) before you apply any force.

2. Add 10 N of applied force, and push the button and record what happens. Include a free body diagram showing all the
forces.
3. Add 100 N of applied force and push the button. What changed?

4. Use the friction equation to calculate how much force would be required to get it moving. Show your work here…..
Try it out. What happened? How did you fix the problem to get it moving?

5. What happened as the crate moved up the ramp? Show the free body diagram while the crate is on the ramp. What
force is working against your applied force?
6. Reset all. Predict what you think would happen if you increased the angle. What actually happened? Explain why you
saw what you saw.

7. Reset all. Predict what you think would happen if you decreased the angle. Try it out. Why?

8. Place the crate on the ramp with the angle at 200. What is true about the parallel force and the friction force if the
crate does not go down the ramp? Slowly increase the angle until the block JUST starts to move. Use the angle to
calculate μs and compare to the given value for μs for the crate.

9. Calculate how much force you would have to apply to the crate to get it to go at constant speed up the 30 o ramp.
Show your work below and record your answer to the tenth of a Newton (Hint: Remember it’s moving now, so which
μ do you need to use?) ‘

10. Go to the “Forces Graph” tab. Reset all. Input your applied force and push play. Stop the crate before it crashes into
the wall. Is your net force = 0 (Fsum )? What does that tell you about the motion of the crate?
11. Place the block at the top of the 30o ramp (Position = 8.9 m). What is the net force on the block down the ramp?
(Show your calculation below). What is the acceleration of the block down the ramp? (Include in your calculation).
What would be the final velocity of the block at the bottom of the ramp?

12. What force is acting on the crate once it hits the flat part at the bottom of the ramp? What is the magnitude and
direction of that force?
13. What will be the acceleration of the crate on the flat part at the bottom of the ramp?

14. Calculate how far the crate should slide at the bottom. Try it out. How did your calculation compare to the applet
result? .

15. Change your object to the “Mystery Object” and reduce your angle. Using what you learned above, calculate the
mass, μs and μk for the Mystery Object. Show all your measurements and your work. Be careful to state whether
your measurement is on the ramp or on the flat part. (Hint: Start by finding μs first with the ramp raising).You may
need to reset all occasionally.

Section II: DATA

DATA TABLES:

Procedure # Data

4. μs=0.5 Fn=100kg G=9.81 m/s2 ---> (100kg x 9.81m/s2)x(0.5) = 490.5 N

8. μs = 89.34 N/ (100 kg x 9.81 m/s2) = 0.09

9. 0.3 x (100 kg x 9.81 m/s2) à Fk=294.3 N

11. 3.18 m/s / 5 s à Acc = 0.64 m/s2

14. D = 3.18 m/s x 5 sec à 15.9 m / 2 (due to length of flat part of the ramp) = 7.95 m

15. Flat Part Calculations/Measurements

μs = 312.0 N / 9.81 x 0.97

μs = 312.0 N / 9.52

μs = 32.77
μ241.1 / 9.81 x sin (15)
μk = 312.0 N / 9.81 x 0.26

μk = 312.0 N / 2.55

μk = 122.35
Ramp Part Calculations/Measurements
μs = 241.1 N / 9.81 x cos(15)

μs = 241.1 N / 9.81 x 0.97

μs = 241.1 N / 9.52

μs = 25.33
 μ241.1 / 9.81 x sin (15)
μk = 241.1 N / 9.81 x 0.26

μk = 241.1 N / 2.55

μk = 94.55

CALCULATIONS:

Procedure # Equation

4. Static Friction Equation: μs=Fs,max/F n = Fs,max/mg

8. Static Friction Formula: μs=Fs,max/F n = Fs,max/mg

9. μk = F k / F n à Fk = μ k x Fn à F

11. Fnet = mass x acceleration à Acc = velocity/time à Velocity = distance/time

14. Distance = velocity x time

15. Flat Part Calculations/Measurements/ Ramp Part Calculations/Measurements

RESULTS:

Procedure # Result

3. There was no change from the previous force exerted and the position of the object
moving on the ramp. The man is still incapable of exerting enough force to move the
crate up the ramp.

4. After using the equation, using the coefficient of static friction along with the mass of the
crate with gravity, we were able to determine the amount of force needed for the man to
push the crate up the ramp, which was 490.5 Newtons.

5. The forces working against the crate were static friction and gravity. Gravity is pulling the
crate toward the earth making it more difficult to push the crate when on an incline. Static
friction is working on the crate because it is keeping the crate immobile, whereas kinetic
friction would be the friction involved with the movement of the crate.

6. I initially predicted that the crate would require more force to be acting upon it in order to
push it up the ramp, which is on a much higher incline. This prediction was accurate and
the man pushing the crate did require more force to be exerted in order for the crate to
move up the now much higher incline and the increased force of gravity, due to the angle
being closer to 90 degrees.

7. I initially predicted that the crate would require far less force, due to the decreased angle.
There would be a larger amount of kinetic friction because there would be more kinetic
 energy created due to the force and movement of the crate on the near-straight ramp,
allowing for acceleration to occur. This increase of acceleration would require less force
over time.

8. The parallel force was nonexistent due to the fact that the crate is not at a high enough
angle and there was a large amount of friction due to the angle being 20 degrees.
Gravity also works with friction, because more gravity means there is a lower level of
friction.

10. The net force is not equal to zero. This indicates that the crate is still in motion, meaning
that kinetic friction is acting upon it.

12. Kinetic friction is acting on the crate as it slides towards the bottom of the ramp and
reaches the flat surface. A kinetic friction of 0.3 is being applied on the crate as the crate
moves from the top of the ramp to the bottom, moving left.

13. The acceleration of the crate increases as it slides down the ramp. However, when it
reaches the flat surface, it begins to decrease and it will eventually come to stop, leaving
the crate with an acceleration of 0 m/s.

14. My results were very close to that of the applet results. I calculated that the crate moved
7.95 meters on the flat part of the ramp, which was very close to the applet result of 7.0
meters.

CONCLUSION

Physics is cool. I calculated stuff, and I did angles. I will now have a bright future.