Lab M2 1

Chapter 2
Force and Motion
There are multiple parts to this lab assignment involving the same simulation. You will need to complete
the activities and questions in this assignment, some of which may include attaching screen shots of the
interactive simulation. Please answer all questions included in this document and submit this via Blackboard.
Motion (Newton’s First Law

Objectives:
1. Explore Newton’s First Law.

2. Determine under what conditions a force causes motion.
This lab uses an online simulation found at this web site:
https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/forces-and-motion-basics.
You should see the following screen:
Click on gray “play” button to start the simulation.
13
CHAPTER 2. FORCE AND MOTION
Once it is running it should look like
For this part you will only need to use the Motion and Friction simulations. Feel free to explore the other
parts of the simulation, they may also help illustrate some of the physics principles covered in the lecture.
Motion
1. Select the Motion simulation. You should see the following new window:
2. In the upper right corner, you can choose what shows up on the simulation. In the lower middle of the
screen, you can adjust the amount of Applied Force the stick figure applies to the object on the
skateboard. The single black arrows change the force in increments of one Newton (to either the right or
the left). The inner, double black arrows change the force in increments fifty Newtons (to either the right
or the left). You can also adjust the force using the slider bar but the arrow buttons will probably be
easier to use. By clicking and dragging, you can remove objects from the skateboard or place additional
objects on the skateboard.
3. Make sure the Force and Speed boxes are checked. Apply a force of 50 N to the right. De- scribe the
motion of the box using the physics terms from Chapter 2 (like velocity, for example).
The box starts off going really slow, but its velocity accelerates at a consistent speed until it reaches
its max speed and then it stays the same.
4. Reset the simulation (circular orange button) and check the Force and Speed boxes. Apply a force of 50 N
to the right for about 5 seconds (the timing is not critical) and then make the applied force zero. Let the
simulation keep running. Describe the motion of the box on the skateboard. What happens on the
speedometer?
The box again starts off really slow and then once you take the force off of it, it stays the same.
5. The simulation should still be running from the previous question (if not, repeat step 4). Apply a 50 N
force to the left. Describe the motion of the box on the skateboard.
Skateboard slowly comes to a stop and then starts going the other way. The skateboard continues to
accelerate until it reaches its max speed.
CHAPTER 2. FORCE AND MOTION
6. Based on the results of the last two experiments, describe what steps you would need to take to get the
box to a complete stop (using forces).
in order to get the box to stop completely, you would need to apply the same amount of force on the opposite
side until it stops and then stop applying force.
Friction
The results of Part 1 are not very realistic since there was no friction. In this experiment, you will explore the
effects of friction on motion. Go to the next window at the bottom of the simulation page labeled Friction. The
simulation should look nearly identical to the previous one but now there should be a Friction slider in the
upper right corner.
1. Set the friction to None and make sure that only the Speed box is checked. Increase the Applied Force
until the box is moving at about half its maximum speed. It doesn’t have to be exactly half the speed, just
get the speedometer roughly in the middle. Now while the box is still moving, increase the friction slider
to the middle. What happens to the box? What is causing this?
When the forces are applied, the box's speed Increases at a slow speed but when the force is removed, the box
stays at a consistent speed.
2. Reset the Friction simulation (round, orange button on the right) and this time check only the Forces and
Speed boxes. The Friction slider should be in the middle.
(a) Increase the Applied Force to 100N. What happens to the box?
The amount of force being applied is not enough to move the box, so therefore it is
stationary.
(b) Keep increasing the Applied Force until the box begins to move. What force is required to just
barely get the box moving? Describe the motion of the box (for example, is it speeding up or
slowing down). Now adjust the Applied Force to keep the box moving at a constant speed. Is this
force greater than, less than or the same as the force required to get the box moving?
The amount of force to get the box moving is 126. The box is speeding up at a constant speed so it
would be the same force required to move the box.
3. Reset the simulation and check the Values and Speed boxes. Apply 50 N of force to the crate then slowly
increase the amount of applied force until you reach 350 N of Applied Force. Describe how the force of
friction changes (or doesn’t change) while you are increasing the Applied Force.
The box speeds up really quickly and then it slows down even faster.
4. Reset the simulation and check the Values and Speed boxes. Slide friction to Lots. Apply 50 N of force to
the crate and then slowly increase the amount of Applied Force until you reach 350 N of Applied Force.
Describe how the force of friction changes while you are increasing the Applied Force.
The box did not move until three hundred newtons of force was applied. After that, it slowed down very quickly
and slowed down very quickly after the force was removed.
5. What is a general rule relating the directions of the Applied Force, Friction force and direction of motion?
When the force is greater than the force of friction the direction of motion is in the direction the same
as the force.

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Chapter 2

Force and Motion

Motion (Newton’s First Law

1. Explore Newton’s First Law.

Click on gray “play” button to start the simulation.

Once it is running it should look like

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