Experiment 8: Mechanical Energy

PHYS 123, Lab 8

Name: Tammy Phan CWID: A20350240

Partner: Sydney

1. Answer the following questions using the data you acquired in this experiment:

(a) For the first experiment, explain why work done by the falling mass is independent of the path
taken.
The work done by the falling mass is the work done by a conservative force: gravity. Therefore,
only the initial and final positions (in this case, the height) is accountable, not the path the object
took.
(b) What did the addition of a spring do to the overall system? Is this spring force a conservative
force?
The addition of the spring adds a kind of potential energy, spring potential energy, to the total
mechanical energy of the system. The spring force is therefore a conservative force.
(c) Write down the energy equation relations for the second experiment.
1 1 1 1 1 1
2 + 1 12
+ 2 2 2
+ 2 = 2 + 1 1 2 2
+ 2 2 + 2
2 2 2 2 2 2
Where k is the spring constant, x is spring displacement, m1 is the mass of the glider, m2 is the
mass of the falling weight, and h is the height of the falling weight.
(d) Where does the maximum kinetic energy in parts 1 and 2 occur?
In part 1: maximum kinetic energy occurs when h = 0, which is when all the potential energy is
transformed into kinetic energy.
In part 2: maximum kinetic energy occurs when x = m2g/k (same as the displacement of the
spring when the system is at rest). During motion, the free end of the spring will oscillate about
the point l + x (l is the springs original length). So the maximum kinetic energy is achieved at
the equilibrium point of the oscillation.
(e) Can we truly ignore friction in this lab? Explain using your data.
Table data of experiment 1:

1
 m1 (kg) m2 (kg) v1 (m/s) v2 v3 a (m/s^2) Distance moved (m)
0.1999 0.025 1.2915 1.0918 1.088 1.09048466 0.613892363
0.1999 0.045 1.4059 1.4273 1.4047 1.802572479 0.553523633
0.1999 0.065 1.6166 1.6213 1.6093 2.407134768 0.542261746
0.2799 0.025 0.9233 0.9217 0.9217 0.804362086 0.528688719
0.2799 0.045 1.1963 1.194 1.1952 1.358725762 0.525648148
0.2799 0.065 1.3831 1.378 1.3908 1.848796753 0.518002785

As we can see, the distance moved is the distance the glider traveled before it reached the
photogate, therefore this number should be almost the same for every trial. However, the data
showed that the distanced moved varied slightly between each trials. We can then conclude that
friction was responsible for such variations.

Table data of experiment 2:

delta x F K
0.05 -0.37 -7.4
0.1 -0.61 -6.1
0.15 -0.89 -5.93333
m1 m2 v1 v2 v3 deltax k equation
0.1999 0.025 0.2129 0.4145 0.5968 0.03 0.00056658 0.060118007
0.1999 0.045 0.1661 0.408 0.5859 0.065 0.000620757 0.194819751
0.1999 0.065 0.1947 0.3841 1.5681 0.105 0.001232013 0.406265425
0.2799 0.025 0.1887 0.3443 0.5541 0.03 0.000445096 0.060123193
0.2799 0.045 0.1809 0.3451 0.5218 0.065 0.000736308 0.194806667
0.2799 0.065 0.1714 0.3437 0.5157 0.105 0.000954784 0.406430803

x0 delta Xf1 delta Xf2 delta Xf3

0.052 0.08 0.13 0.18
0.115 0.165 0.215
0.155 0.205 0.255
0.08 0.13 0.18
0.115 0.165 0.215
0.155 0.205 0.255
We use conservation of energy to find k, the equation is derived in the data sheet.
Here we can see that k is not constant, which it should be (same as distance moved in experiment
1). Therefore, we can conclude that there is friction involved and we cannot completely neglect it.
(f) Calculate the ratio of the kinetic and potential energies for parts 1 and 2. What do these ratios tell
you about the conservation of energy?
(g) What effect would the release point have on the final velocity?
In experiment 1, if the release point is changed, then the gravitational potential energy is changed,
then the total mechanical energy will be changed. If the release point is further from the
photogate, the system will have larger total mechanical energy and the photogate will record fast
speed.

2
Same for experiment 2, if the release point is changed, there will be a change in total mechanical
energy as well. But it will depend on the magnitude of k and m2.