This next experiment was focused on Newton’s second law of F = MA (Force = Mass x Acceleration). Through this lab, my partner and I were able to see the direct correlation between acceleration versus mass and also acceleration versus power.
The materials we used in this experiment included:
- Lego motors NXT (force)
- Pulleys (energy)
- Weights (mass)
We also used rulers to measure the distance that the weights traveled when the motors were running starting from the bottom up.
Through the use of Labview, my partner and I were able to control the different power speeds determining how fast or slow the pulley would be lifting the weights up. Not only that, we would either add or take off weights from the pulley to see how the results would vary by doing that.
In Labview, factors including: battery discharge, speed, time, acceleration, mass and power were all calculated within the experiment. It was up to us to change the mass (weights) and power settings to see the differences in acceleration, etc.
The point of this experiment was to see the Law of Conservation of energy by two means.
- Keeping a fixed power level while changing the mass.
- Keeping a fixed mass while changing the power level.
After doing a few trial runs to see if the device and program were working, we used Microsoft Excel to record our numbers for each weight/power change. After doing so, all the factors (battery discharge, speed, mass, power setting, time and rpm) were all plotted out into graphs. To see comparisons, we created two separate graphs.
The final step of this experiment was calculating the average power that was used by the motor (Lego mindstorm). To do so, the following equation was used:
