Atwood Machine Lab

Use the video at http://paer.rutgers.edu/PT3/experiment.php?topicid=3&exptid=4.

Answer the following questions to solve for the acceleration of the objects.

1) Draw a free body diagram for the object on the left.

2) Write the force equations using Newton’s second law for the motion of the object on the left when the object on the left is released.

3) Draw a free body diagram for the object on the right.

4) Write the force equations using Newton’s second law for the motion of the object on the right when the object on the left is released.

5) Using your force equations and systems of equations, calculate the acceleration of the objects.

6) Notice that the movie plays at one frame every 30th of a second. Explain how you can use the ruler and the times to find the acceleration of the blocks.

7) After the movie plays, use the control bar at the bottom of the screen to back the movie up. Using the single step button, play the move one frame at a time, counting how many frames you have gone through. Taking length measurements from your first frame and your last frame, and time measurements from how many 1/30 of a seconds steps occurred between your first frame and your last frame, calculate the acceleration of this Atwood machine.
8) Using the masses given for m1 and m2, and the formula from step 5, validate that your measured acceleration measure in step 7 are in agreement.