In our most recent experiment, we tested Newtons law F=MA. The experiment was set up to measure the relationship between various things such as Mass and Acceleration, Power Level and Acceleration, and Battery Discharge and Mass. We used a robot, and computer program called Lab View to test out these relationships. We created a basic pulley system where the robotic arm would lift a set of weights and the measurements would be calculated by the computer program. Our first relationship is Acceleration and Mass.

The chart above shows the relationship between acceleration and mass. You can see by the line, that as the mass was increased, the acceleration decreased. This makes sense because it take much more force to accelerate a heavy object than it would to accelerate a lighter object. In all of the trials for this relationship, the force (power level) remained the same. A real life example is a tractor trailer, and a motorcycle. It is pretty obvious that the motorcycle is lighter. Therefore, the motorcycle will be able to accelerate much more rapidly than the tractor trailer, even if the same amount of force is exhibited.

The chart above shows the relationship between the acceleration and power level. The power level is equivalent to the amount of force being exerted on the weights. Since F=MA, when the M (mass) remains the same, and F (force) increases, so should A (acceleration). For example, if F equals 80, M equals 5, then A has to equal 16. If you increase F to 100, leave M at 5, then A must also increase to 20. The chart above proves that. As the force being exerted on the weights increased, so did the acceleration. Since the mass of the weights remained constant, the only variables being tested were acceleration as force is increased. A real life example is back to the trailer. As the driver increases the force on the truck (by increasing speed), the acceleration will also increase.

The chart above shows the relationship between Battery Drainage and Mass. This chart is much more difficult to get a read on, and this relationship is much more complicated to understand. If you look at the chart, you see that there is no real pattern, but rather the points are thrown all across the chart, in seemingly random locations. The only conclusion I can make about this chart is that many factors other than mass may have played a role in this chart. I would imagine that as the power level is increased the battery drainage would also increase. I would also imagine if the power level remained constant, and the mass increased, so would the battery drainage. Unfortunately, I believe that this map shows drainage and mass relationships among trials in which the power level was not consistent. This is an example of human error in the experiment. If we ran this experiment again, I would want to isolate the variables, and keep the power level constant to better understand the chart.

The final relationship explored in this experiment is the relationship between power and power level. One might get confused and assume that power and power level are the same thing. The power level in this program is the speed, and the power would be the force exerted on the weights. This is a fairly simple chart to understand. As the power level increased (speed increased) the power being exerted on the weight also increased. A real life example once again is motorcycles. When the motorcycle is going faster (speed), the motorcycle has greater power.

This experiment was a cool way to explore these various relationships. With the exception of the Battery Drainage and Mass relationship, the experiment provided us with results that are not shocking. All the relationships are relationships that make sense and are present in our daily lives. If this experiment was to be done again, I would want to focus more time and attention on making sure we isolated our variables, and thus get a better read on the battery drainage and mass relationship.