Activity Overview
Students will find both the kinetic and potential energies as the cart rolls down the ramp. They will find the sum of the two energies, and show that this value is constant at all times.
Before the Activity
Connect the calculator to the CBR 2™
Install the TI Connect™ software to analyze data on the computer
See the attached PDF file for detailed instructions for this activity
Print pages 45 - 49 from the attached PDF file for your class
During the Activity
Distribute the pages to your class.
Follow the Activity procedures:
Run the Ranger program on the calculator
Place the cart at the top of the inclined plane and position the CBR at the bottom
Release the cart and record data
Observe the distance versus time, and velocity versus time graphs
Determine the velocity of motion
Record the mass of the cart in the data sheet
Calculate the height of the cart in terms of the distance from the cart to the CBR, and the sine of the angle
Calculate the potential and the kinetic energies of the rolling cart
Repeat the experiment and find the sum of the two energies for every trial
After the Activity
Students will complete the Data Sheet and answer questions listed in it.
Review student results
As a class, discuss questions that appeared to be more challenging
Re-teach concepts as necessary