Introduction

Newton’s second law of motion describes the relationship among force, mass, and acceleration. In this activity, you will study the relationship between acceleration and mass, while keeping force constant. A cart carrying different masses will be pulled across a table by a hanging weight—the constant force. Acceleration will be measured using a Sensor Cart. You will plot a graph of acceleration versus total mass of the system, and then use the graph as you make conclusions about the relationship between mass and acceleration.

Objectives