Bilal Nadeem
9/29/2024
PHY 133 L69
TA: Gustavo Orozcogalvan
Force and Acceleration
Lab Report
Introduction: The main objective of today’s lab is to study the force of friction and how it
changes with mass. We will also determine the coefficient of kinetic friction between the iOLab
device and a surface. Friction is a force that is observed when an object slides over a surface, it
has two types, static and kinetic. Static is in the initial motion while kinetic friction acts on an
object already in motion. For our purposes, we will focus on kinetic friction, which requires less
fore to maintain an object in motion. The relationship between frictional force and normal force
is given by the equation Ff=uFn, in which Ff is the frictional force, u is the coefficient of friction,
and Fn is the normal force. Through applying different masses to the iOLab device, we will
calculate the coefficient of kinetic friction. The coefficient should remain constant regardless of
changes in mass.
Finding Mass of Device
Procedure:
1. Attach screw to the iO lab device
2. Ensure iOLab is properly connected to computer and that the sensors for accelerometer and force
are active, Az and Ax can be unchecked.
3. Start recording and hold the device in the air for a few seconds, then put it back down again
4. Analyze the recorded data to calculate the mass using Fg=mg
Figure 1: Data of the device being held up, with the portion for it being in the air being
highlighted
Measurement Value Unit
Average Force -1.911 N
Standard Deviation of Force 0.085 N
Average Acceleration -9.773 m/s²
Standard Deviation of Acceleration 0.46 m/s²
Figure 2: Table consisting of important values from graph data
Mass Calculation:
Fg = mg
Using row 1
Fg = -1.911 N
Using row 3
g = -9.773
m = Fg / g
m = -1.911 N / -9.773 m/s^2 = .1954 kg = 195.4 g
Error Analysis: 0.1954 sqrt[(0.085/1.911)^2+(0.46/9.773)^2
Fg = 0.085/1.911 = 0.0445
G = 0.46/9.773 = 0.0471
(0.0445)^2+(0.0471)^2 = 0.001980 + 0.002218 = 0.004198
sqrt(0.004198) = 0.0648
0.1954 * 0.0648 = 0.0127 kg or 12.7 grams for final uncertainty
m = 195.4 +- 12.7 g
As shown above, I used the average force and acceleration in my rearranged formula of Fg = mg,
which is m = Fg/g. This formula was obtained simply by dividing g from the m to put it to the
left side leaving m the variable to solve for. I then substituted my values and got a mass of 195.4
grams. I did the error analysis and found that the uncertainty is 12.7 grams, meaning the mass is
195.4 grams +- 12.7 grams.
Push with no Mass:
1. Attach plate to device
2. Ensure device is placed with wheels facing up, smooth side being in contact with the table
3. Record and push the device
Figure 3: Pushing the device with no mass attached
The device still has acceleration after I stop pushing it because of the force of friction acting on
it. Friction opposes motion of the device and slows it down, and the acceleration we see after the
push is caused by that frictional force. To find the force acting on the device using mass and
acceleration, we can use F=ma, where f is the force, m is the mass which is 195.4 grams, and a is
the acceleration.
Friction with added Mass
Procedure:
1. Attach a mass to device and secure it with scotch tape
2. Find the mass of the new system using the same method we used to find mass of the device
initially
3. Give a push to the device with the first mass added and find the acceleration
4. Add a second mass and calculate the new overall mass with the second mass secured as well
5. Use the force of gravity to calculate the normal force
6. Plot the force of friction against the normal force in excel, add a linear trendline
7. Calculate u for each mass and average the values
8. Using the slope of the force of friction vs. the normal force plot, find u.
9. Compare the two values of u
Mass 2:
Figure 4: mass of new system with first mass added
m = fg/g = -2.705 / -9.808 = 0.2757 kg or 275.7 g
normal force = Fn = mg, 0.2757 kg * -9.8 m/s^2 = -2.702 N
Error calculation:
sqrt[(0.0244)^2+0.00469)^2]=0.0284, then 0.0284*0.2757 = 6.85g
So mass 2 with uncertainty is 275.7 g +- 6.85 g.
Using uncertainty of .00685 kg, we can calculate uncertainty of the normal force:
sqrt[(.02485)^2+(.00469)^2] = 0.02528, then 0.02528*2.702 = 0.0683
So normal force of mass 2 with uncertainty is -2.702 N +- .0683 N
Figure 5: Acceleration after push with mass 2
Acceleration = -1.515 m/s^2
Force of friction = f=ma, so f =.2757 kg * -1.515 m/s^2 = -.4176
Error calculation:
sqrt[(.02485)^2+(.7261)^2] = 0.7266, then 0.7266*0.4176 = 0.3033 N
So frictional force of mass 2 with uncertainty is -0.4176 N +- 0.3033.
Mass 3:
Figure 6: mass of new system with second mass also added
m=fg/g, m=-4.093/-9.8 = .4181 kg or 418.1 g
normal force = fn = mg, fn = .4181*-9.8 = -4.0923 N
Error Calculation:
Sqrt[(.02077)^2+(.0470)^2=.05139
.05139* 0.4181 kg = 0.215 kg
Mass 3 with uncertainty: 418.1 g +- 21.5 g
.05139*4.0923 N = 0.2102 N
Normal force of system 3 with uncertainty -4.0923 N +- 0.2102 N
Figure 7: Acceleration of new system with second mass also added
Acceleration = -1.376 m/s^2
Force of friction = f=ma, f=(.4181)(-1.376) = -.5753 N
Error Calculation:
Sqrt[(.05139)^2+(.109)^2=0.1205
0.1205*0.5753 N = 0.0693 N
Force of friction with uncertainty: -0.5753 N +- 0.0693 N
Calculating error average:
Force of friction uncertainty average: (0.0693 N + 0.3033 N) / 2 = +- 0.1863 N (value for vertical
error bars)
Normal force uncertainty average: (.0683 N + 0.2102 N) / 2 = +- 0.1734 N (value for horizontal
error bars)
Figure 8: Frictional force vs Normal Force plotted, with error bars and trendline
Calculating u:
u = f/N
Mass 2: -.4176/-2.702 = .1546
Mass 3: -.5753/-4.0923 = .1406
Slope = 0.1334, so u of both points =0.1334
These values are close to each other meaning the coefficient has expectedly stayed almost the
same even when more masses were added.
Discussion:
Through the lab we have found that coefficient of kinetic friction stays relatively the
same no matter how much the object’s mass is. This is what we expected, and it also proved the
relationship that frictional force is directly proportional to normal force because of us being able
to use the slope of the line to determine the coefficient of kinetic friction. We found that the
coefficient of kinetic friction averages to about 0.1134. We used the formulas f = ma for force of
friction and fn = mg for normal force, which gave us the two points for the plot.
The error analysis allowed us to find the uncertainty of the normal force and friction
force which we averaged to use as our values for the error bars. We did the error analysis using
the error analysis guide of division and multiplication rules. Sources of human error could have
come from how we pushed the device or having not taped the new masses securely.
The slope of the fn vs ff graph represents the coefficient of kinetic friction because the
equation ff = uFn indicates that the frictional force is proportional to the normal force. In other
words, dividing the force of friction by the corresponding normal force would give us the
coefficient of friction between the device and the surface.
Diagrams:
Figure 9: Free body diagram showing Fg acting down, friction, push, and Fn
Figure 10: Diagram for procedure of the lab
Selfies:
Figure 11: My first mass being my phone with the iOLab
Figure 12: My second mass being my portable charger with the iOLab
