Mechanics

Lab Resources

Laboratory Information
- Safety
  
  Students must follow all posted safety rules and precautions and those announced by the TA...
- Recitation and Lab Schedules
  
  The laboratory associated with this physics course consists of a recitation session (one hour) and a laboratory session (one hour and fifty minutes)...
- Lab Session
  
  Students must be prepared for every lab meeting...
- Lab Report
  
  You will be able to view the lab report template (worksheet) for the experiment you are to do before attending the lab as part of the lab preparation...
- Demo Labs/Exam Review/Problem-Solving Sessions
  
  The lab schedule may list several different types of sessions during the lab meetings...
- Missed Labs
  
  If a student misses a lab (or believes he/she will have to miss a lab due to a university-excused absence), that student should try to find another section during that same week to do the lab experiment...
- Feedback
  
  In order to continue making improvements to this lab manual, feedback from the students is important...
Appendix
- Using Excel^® to Fit Data to a Linear Equation
  
  In Excel^®, put values to be plotted along the x-axis in the rows of column A...
- Theory of Errors
  
  The measurement of a physical quantity can never be made with perfect accuracy; there will always be some error or percent uncertainty present...

Lab Manuals

Simple Pendulum
- Introduction
  
  A simple pendulum consists of a large mass (bob) suspended by a light string from a rigid support (Figure 1)...
- Objective
  
  This experiment explores the treatment of measurement error and tests if the period of a simple pendulum depends on the mass of the bob...
- Apparatus
  
  Stopwatch, One pendulum with a heavy mass and one with a light mass (one setup at the front of the room)
- Procedure
  
  The instructor will set the pendulum with the lighter mass in motion and one person from each lab group will time one period...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
Acceleration of Gravity
- Introduction
  
  An object in free fall has a downward acceleration of magnitude, g, where g = 9.80 m/s²...
- Objective
  
  In this experiment, we measure the time it takes a cart to travel a distance down a frictionless incline and use this to determine the acceleration of gravity, g...
- Apparatus
  
  PASCO track and cart, Stopwatch
- Discussion
  
  The Introduction for this experiment shows that for an object moving down an incline that is inclined at an angle, θ, with respect to the horizontal, the time, t, it takes the object to move a distance, x, along the incline is given by the equation...
- Procedure
  
  Refer to Figure 2. The distance, x, traveled by the cart will be determined by two pencil marks on the track that serve as starting and finishing lines for the front end of the cart...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
Force and Acceleration in Circular Motion
- Introduction
  
  Acceleration is the time rate of change of velocity...
- Objective
  
  In this experiment we will test the expression for the acceleration of an object moving in uniform circular motion.
- Apparatus
  
  Racketball with string and alligator clip attached, Plastic tube, Slotted mass set and hanger, Balance, Stopwatch, Meterstick
- Discussion
  
  As discussed in the Introduction for this experiment, application of Newton's second law in the experimental setup yields the following...
- Procedure
  
  For practice, place a slotted mass of 100 grams on the mass hanger at the lower end of the string and whirl the racketball over your head while holding onto the string below the tube...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
Elastic Collisions
- Introduction
  
  In general, when two objects collide, some portion of the initial kinetic energy is converted to other forms due to the deformation of the objects and the friction between them during the collision...
- Objective
  
  To verify conservation of linear momentum and conservation of kinetic energy in an elastic collision.
- Apparatus
  
  Grooved track, Large sheet of paper (2 ft × 2 ft), Meterstick, Compass, Steel balls (2), Carbon paper sheets (2), Protractor
- Procedure
  
  The elastic collision apparatus consists of a grooved track mounted on a wooden base...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
Torques and Static Equilibrium
- Introduction
  
  Archimedes, Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor and astronomer, was widely regarded as the leading scientist of the ancient world...
- Objective
  
  To use the torque equation for static equilibrium to measure the mass of a meterstick.
- Apparatus
  
  Meterstick, Metallic stand, Slider (to place on the meterstick and use to balance it on the stand), Two sliding hooks (to place on the meterstick and from which to suspend the masses), Slotted mass set and 2 mass hangers, Balance
- Procedure
  
  We will use a coordinate system where the origin is at the left-hand edge of the meterstick and the x–axis is along the meterstick...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
Simple Harmonic Motion
- Introduction
  
  The force that a spring exerts when it is stretched or compressed a distance x from its equilibrium length is given by Hooke's Law...
- Objective
  
  In this experiment we will study SHM (simple harmonic motion) by examining the motion of a mass that is attached to one end of a vertical spring.
- Apparatus
  
  Stopwatch, Mass holder, Slotted mass set, Spiral spring, Support rod and base, Ruler (taped to support rod), Balance
- Discussion
  
  The experiment will use two different methods to measure the force constant, k, of a spring...
- Procedure
  
  Hang the spring from the eye bolt at the top of the support rod...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
Vibrating Strings
- Introduction
  
  Stationary waves are the underlying basis for most musical instruments, for example: guitar, violin, flute, etc...
- Objective
  
  In this experiment we will make measurements for standing wave patterns on a string...
- Apparatus
  
  String vibrator (motor) with two strings attached, Mass hanger, Slotted mass set (plus 1, 2, and 5 gram masses on top of outline sheet taped to lab table), Meterstick, Strobe light (one per room)
- Procedure
  
  Take the black string, pass it over the groove in the pulley and hang the mass hanger from the end of the string to temporarily hold the string in place...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...