PHYS 101 Horizontal Motion and Motion on an Inclined Plane
Experiment 2
Data Sheet
Simulation Link: [Link]
2. Experiment
In the first part of this experiment, you will investigate the motion of an object moving along a line in a horizontal plane.
The second part will involve the motion of the same object down an inclined plane under the influence of gravity.
Procedure for Horizontal Motion Experiment
1. Open “The Ramp” simulation by clicking on the simulation link provided.
Fig. 2.1 Horizontal motion simulation screen
2. On the main screen, click on the “ More Features” and close all the graphs, work, and energy tabs by clicking on the
minimize sign on them.
3. For the first part of the experiment, set the angle of inclination of the track as 0° by clicking the left mouse button on
the right end of the track and dragging it down.
4. Select an object by clicking on “Choose an Object” drop down menu.
5. Check the “ FRICTIONLESS” box. You will perform the experiment in ideal condition of no friction.
6. Give the object an initial velocity by giving it a gentle push. You do this by cliking left mouse button and dragging it
to the right or left. DO NOT APPLY CONTINOUS FORCE. Left side denotes negative velocity.
7. When the object starts to move, pause the motion and record the position, time and velocity as your first readings in
Table 2.1. Hit “ go” and “ Pause” again and record the position, time, and velocity as your second readings in Table
2.1.
8. Repeat the procedure four more times and record your position, time, and velocity readings in Table 2.1.
9. The timer in the simulation has a limit of 30 seconds. Therefore, click on “clear” each time when you exceed the 30
second time limit.
Procedure for Motion on an Inclined Plane Experiment
Figure 2.2: Inclined Plane simulation screen
1. The object remains to be the “ file cabinet”. DO NOT CHANGE THE OBJECT.
2. Apply a continuous force on the file cabinet by clicking the left mouse button on the object and dragging it and push
the object to the right end of the inclined track.
3. Click on the right end of the track and raise this end slowly to an angle that the object will start sliding and note down
the angle.
4. When object starts sliding down the track hit the “Pause” and record the first position and velocity readings in Table
2.2. Hit “ go” button and the object will start sliding again. Hit the “ Pause” again and record the second position
velocity readings in Table 2.2.
5. Four more times raise the angle and repeat the procedure from 3-5 for four different angles. Record your position and
velocity readings in Table 2.2. Remember to consider significant figures.
TABLE 2.1. VALUES FOR HORIZONTAL MOTION (15 PTS)
Run x1 v1 t 1 (s) x2 v2 t2 ∆ t=t 2−t 1 x 2−x 1 v 1 + v 2 ∆ v=v 2−v 1 ∆ v
a
v avg =
b
v avg = a=
# (m) (m/s) (m) (m/s) (s) (s) ∆t 2 (m/s) ∆t
(m/s) (m/s)
(m/s2)
1 9.02 3.64 2.5 116.12 3.64 3.97 1.47 4.82993 3.64 0 0
2 6.51 3.59 1.23 16.42 3.59 3.53 2.3 4.30869 3.59 0 0
3 8.89 5.00 0.77 17.91 5.00 1.90 1.13 7.98230 5.00 0 0
4 9.43 4.85 1.47 17.83 4.85 2.93 1.46 5.75342 4.85 0 0
5 11.57 5.81 1.50 17.06 5.81 2.23 0.73 7.52054 5.81 0 0
TABLE 2.2. VALUES FOR MOTION ON AN INCLINED PLANE (15 PTS)
Run Angle θ sin θ x1 v1 x2 v2 v1
2 2
v2 ∆ v =v 2 −v 1 a
2 2 2
g
# (degree) (m) (m/s) (m) (m/s) (m2/s2) (m2/s2) (m2/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2)
1 10.0 0.17365 16.52 -3.82 12.22 -5.39 14.5924 29.0521 14.4597 -1.68136 9.68257
2 15.0 0.25882 16.94 -4.45 9.77 -7.45 19.8025 55.5025 35.7 -2.48954 9.61884
3 30.0 0.5 18.65 -4.62 10.38 -10.05 21.3444 101.0025 79.6581 -4.81609 9.63218
4 45.0 0.70712 17.29 -6.81 10.41 -11.76 46.3761 138.2976 91.9215 -6.68034 9.44742
5 60.0 0.86603 17.9 -6.86 9.92 -13.33 47.0596 177.6889 130.6293 -8.18479 9.45098