Activity Overview
In this activity, students' use a force sensor and a motion detector to collect force and acceleration data for an object moving up and down hanging from a spring. They use the data to test Newton's second law, and to estimate the mass of an object.
Before the Activity
Connect the force sensor to Channel 1 on the CBL 2™ or Vernier LabPro®
Connect the motion detector to the DIG/SONIC port of the CBL 2 or the DIG/SONIC 1 port of the LabPro
Connect the CBL 2 or LabPro to the calculator using the Unit-to-Unit cable
See the attached PDF file for detailed instructions for this activity
Print pages 69 - 76 from the attached PDF file for your class
During the Activity
Distribute the pages to your class.
Follow the Activity procedures:
Attach the force sensor to the ring stand and suspend the bob and slinky 1 m above the motion detector
Zero the force sensor, lift the bob by 10 cm and release it
Record the distance, velocity, acceleration, and force data
Examine distance, force, velocity, and acceleration versus time graphs and fill in the Data Sheet
Fit a linear equation model to the force versus acceleration data
After the Activity
Students' will complete the Data Collection and Analysis Sheet and answer the questions listed in it.
Review student results
As a class, discuss questions that appeared to be more challenging
Re-teach concepts as necessary