BC SCIENCE

PHYSICS 11

Authors
Dr. Gordon Gore
BIG Little Science Centre (Kamloops)
Lionel Sandner
Edvantage Interactive
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ii Introduction © Edvantage Interactive 2025

 Contents BC Science Physics 11

1 Introduction to the Skills of Physics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1.1 What is Physics?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 Essential Skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2 Kinematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.1 Speed and Velocity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.2 Acceleration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.3 Uniform Acceleration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2.4 Acceleration of Bodies Due to Gravity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

3 Forces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.1 Force of Gravity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
3.2 Friction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
3.3 Hooke’s Law. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

4 Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
4.1 Scalars and Vectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
4.2 Projectile Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

5 Newton’s Laws of Motion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

5.1 Inertia and Newton’s First Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
5.2 Newton’s Second Law of Motion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
5.3 Newton’s Third Law of Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
5.4 Momentum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

6 Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
6.1 Do You Know the Meaning of Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
6.2 Mechanical Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
6.3 Temperature, Heat, and Thermal Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
6.4 Measuring Thermal Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

7 Electric Circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

7.1 Static Electric Charges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
7.2 Current Events in History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
7.3 Ohm’s Law. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
9.3 Kirchhoff’s Laws. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

8 Wave Motion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

8.1 Wave Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
8.2 Wave Phenomena. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

9 Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
9.1 Sound Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
9.2 Sound Phenomena. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Answer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

© Edvantage Interactive 2025 Introduction v

vi Introduction © Edvantage Interactive 2025
5 Newton’s Laws of Motion
In this chapter the focus will be on the Big Ideas:

An object’s motion can be predicted, analyzed and described.

Forces influence the motion of an object.

The content learning standards will include:

• Newton’s laws of motion and free-body diagrams

• Balanced and unbalanced forces in systems

By the end of this chapter, you should know the meaning to these key terms:

• action force • law of action and reaction • newton

• gravitational mass • law of conservation of • Newton’s first law of motion
• impulse momentum • Newton’s second law of motion
• inertia • law of inertia • Newton’s third law of motion
• inertial mass • momentum • reaction force

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to use and know when to use the following formulae:
F = ma p = mv ∆p = F∆t

This device is called Newton’s cradle, named after

Sir Isaac Newton, the British scientist. When a ball at
one end is lifted and released, it hits the ball next to
it but that ball doesn’t move. Only the ball at the end
of the row is pushed upward as shown here. In this
chapter you’ll learn about Newton’s laws of motion
and momentum, which help to explain how this device
works.

© Edvantage Interactive 2025 Chapter 5 Newton’s Laws of Motion 107

5.1 Inertia and Newton’s First Law

Warm Up
You are attending a magic show and the magician stands beside a table set with fancy plates, cups, and
silverware. Grabbing the edge of the tablecloth she quickly pulls the cloth out, and the plates, cups, and
silverware stay in place. Is this magic or just physics in action? Explain your answer.

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Imagine you are a passenger in a car, and the driver makes a sudden left turn. What
Inertia sensation do you feel during the left turn? From your own experience, you might recall
that you feel as if you are being pushed to the right. Contrary to what you feel, you are
not being pushed to the right at all.

direction of car

your
direction

direction
of car

you

you

Figure 5.1.1 As the car turns, your body wants to keep moving straight ahead.

Figure 5.1.1 illustrates what happens and explains why you feel the force acting on
your body. The car starts out by going straight and then the driver steers the car to the
left. The car is moving to the left but your body wants to carry on in a straight line. What’s
stopping you? The door of the car is moving left with the rest of the car so it is pushing
you in the direction the car is going. You feel as if you are pushing against the door, but
this feeling is not what is happening. What is happening is that your body is trying to
continue along its original straight path while the car is turning left. The result is that you
are being pulled along with the car rather than continuing in a straight line.

108 Chapter 5 Newton’s Laws of Motion © Edvantage Interactive 2025

 As a general rule, any object tends to continue moving with whatever speed and
direction it already has. This can include zero speed. When a driver accelerates a car, a
body in the car tends to keep doing what it was already doing. So if the car is stopped,
you are stopped. As the car starts to move and speeds up, you feel as if you are being
pushed back into your seat.
The tendency that all objects have to resist change in their states of motion is called
inertia. Every object in the universe that has mass has this property of inertia. Galileo
Galilei (1564–1642) was the first person to describe this property of nature, which is called
the law of inertia.
Some objects have more inertia than others because they have more mass. A
logging truck has much more inertia than a mountain bike. Because it has so much more
inertia, the logging truck is
(a) more difficult to get moving,
(b) more difficult to stop,
(c) more difficult to turn at a corner.

Is there a way to measure inertia? You have measured it many times in science class. The
Measuring Inertia way to measure inertia is to measure the object’s mass. When you measure the mass of an
object using a balance, that mass is equal to the object’s inertial mass.
Strictly speaking, what the balance measures is called gravitational mass. This
is because the unknown object is placed on one pan, and a standard mass is placed on
the other pan. The masses are assumed to be equal when the force of gravity on the
unknown mass balances the force of gravity on the standard mass. Gravitational mass is
numerically equal to inertial mass, so a balance can be used to measure inertial mass as
well.

Quick Check

1. Why does it hurt more to kick a rock shaped like a soccer ball than a soccer ball?
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_________________________________________________________________________________________

2. When astronauts are living in the International Space Station (ISS) they are in orbit around Earth at a
minimum altitude of 278 km. They live in an environment of apparent weightlessness. Compare the inertial
mass of the astronauts when they live on the ISS to their inertial mass when they are on Earth.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Isaac Newton (1642–1727) is considered one of the greatest scientists of all time. In
Newton’s First Law any physics class you ever take, you will come across his name at some time. This is
impressive, given that all his work was done more than 350 years ago. Newton is probably
best known for his laws of motion. Newton’s three laws describe motion as we experience
it on Earth. They are also the foundation for helping to send humans to the Moon and
deep-space vehicles out beyond our solar system.

© Edvantage Interactive 2025 Chapter 5 Newton’s Laws of Motion 109

 Newton’s first law of motion incorporated Galileo’s law of inertia. The first law of
motion, or law of inertia, can be stated this way:

A body will continue to move at the same speed and in the same direction for as
long as there are no unbalanced forces acting on it.

Put another way, an object wants to keep doing what it is already doing. This means if a
Ideal Conditions basketball is placed on the floor, it will not move until another force acts on it. Someone
picking up the ball is an example of a force acting on the ball.
Sometimes it appears that Newton’s first law does not apply. For example, when
coasting on your bicycle along a flat part of the road, you have probably noticed that you
slow down even though it appears no forces are acting on the bicycle. In fact, the force
of friction between the road and tires is responsible for slowing the bicycle. If there were
no friction, the bicycle would continue at the same speed until another force acted on
it. That is why in many physics problems about motion, you will see the assumption that
there is no friction. A situation that is assumed to have no friction is called ideal conditions.
Using ideal conditions, we can focus on the motion being observed. By specifying ideal
conditions, we also show we know that friction would have to be considered under
normal conditions.

Quick Check
1. A car you are driving in encounters a patch of ice just as the car enters a corner turn. Using your knowledge
of Newton’s first law of motion, explain what will happen to the car.

2. You are a judge listening to an injury claim from a bus passenger. The passenger claims to have been hurt
when the bus driver slammed on the brakes and a suitcase came flying from the front of the bus to hit the
passenger. Do you believe the passenger’s description of what happened? Explain your answer.

3. When you receive a drink for a take out order, usually there is a lid on the cup. Use Newton’s first law to
explain why the lid is necessary to prevent spills.

110 Chapter 5 Newton’s Laws of Motion © Edvantage Interactive 2025

 Investigation 5.1.1 Investigating Inertia
Purpose
To answer problems that will help you develop an understanding of inertia and Newton’s first law of motion
Problem 1: How does a seatbelt work?

Figure 5.1.2 Problem 1

Procedure
1. Place a small toy human figure on a toy car or truck as shown in Figure 5.1.2. Do not fasten the figure to the
vehicle. Let the vehicle move toward an obstruction like another toy vehicle or a brick and collide with it.
Observe what happens to the unattached passenger.
2. Repeat step 1, but this time give the toy human figure a “seatbelt” by taping it to the vehicle.

Questions
1. How does this procedure illustrate inertia?
2. How does a seatbelt work?
3. Why are you more likely to survive a collision with a seatbelt than without one?

Problem 2: Does air have inertia?

Procedure
1. Fill a large garbage bag with air, and hold it as shown in
Figure 5.1.3.
2. Quickly jerk the bag to one side. What happens to the air
in the bag
(a) when you start moving the bag?
(b) when you stop moving the bag?

Question
1. What evidence have you observed from this procedure that
supports the claim that air has inertia?

Figure 5.1.3 Problem 2

© Edvantage Interactive 2025 Chapter 5 Newton’s Laws of Motion 111

 Problem 3: Inertia on an air track

Procedure
1. Place a glider on an air track as shown in Figure 5.1.4. Turn on the compressed air supply and check that
the track is absolutely level. When the track is level the glider should have no tendency to move in one
direction or the other. It should sit still.
2. Place the glider at one end of the track. Give it a slight nudge, and let it go.
3. Observe the motion of the glider.

Questions
1. Are there any unbalanced forces on the glider?
2. Describe its motion.
3. How does this demonstration illustrate Newton’s first law?

air track glider

Figure 5.1.4 Problem 3

Problem 4: Get on the right track.

Procedure
1. Place a battery-powered toy train on a circular track, and let it run a few full circles.
2. Predict which way the train will go if one of the sections of curved track is removed. Which one of the following
will the train do? Explain your answer.
(a) continue to move in a circle
(b) move off along a radius of the circle
(c) move off in a straight line tangent to the circle
(d) follow some other path
3. Now test your prediction by setting up a section of track as shown in Figure 5.1.5.

Question
1. What happens to the toy train when it leaves the track? Explain this in terms of inertia.

Figure 5.1.5 Problem 4

112 Chapter 5 Newton’s Laws of Motion © Edvantage Interactive 2025

 Problem 5: Where will the string break? Getting the “hang” of inertia

Procedure
1. Attach two equal masses, either 500 g or 1 kg, to a supporting
rod, as shown in Figure 5.1.6. Use string that is strong enough to
support the hanging masses, but not so strong that you cannot
break it with a moderate pull with your hand. Add a 50 cm length
of the same kind of string to the bottom of each mass.
2. Predict where each string will break, above or below the mass, if
Pull string here.
you pull on the end of the string first gently and then abruptly. Test
your predictions by experiment.

Questions
1. Explain what happened, in terms of inertia.
Figure 5.1.6 Problem 5
2. Which action illustrates the weight of the ball and which
illustrates the mass of the ball?

Problem 6: The pop-up coaster

(a) (b)
Figure 5.1.7 Problem 6

Procedure
1. The cart in Figure 5.1.7 contains a spring that can fire a steel ball straight up in the air. The cart is given a steady
horizontal speed when pulled with a string. This also activates the trigger for the spring-loaded cannon. When
the cart is moving with a steady speed, giving the string a sudden pull will release the spring and fire the ball up
in the air.
2. Predict whether the ball will land ahead of the cannon, behind the cannon, or in the cannon. Explain your
prediction.
3. Test your prediction.

Questions
1. What forces are acting on the ball when it is in the air?
2. How does this procedure illustrate Newton’s first law of motion?
3. Why does the ball sometimes miss the cart after it is released? Does this mean Newton’s first law sometimes
does not apply?

Concluding Question
Use your understanding of inertia to explain the following situation: You are carrying a carton of milk with one hand
and need to get a section of paper towel off the roll in your kitchen. You can only use one hand to tear off the paper
towel. Why does a quick, jerking motion work better than a slow pulling motion when removing the paper towel
section from the roll?

© Edvantage Interactive 2025 Chapter 5 Newton’s Laws of Motion 113

5.1 Review Questions
1. In the Warm Up of this section, you were asked 6. Why do headrests in cars help protect a person from
to explain why the magician was able to pull the head and neck injury in a car accident?
tablecloth out from the under the plates, cups
and silverware. Using the concepts of inertia and
Newton’s first law, explain why this “magic act”
succeeds.

7. A hockey puck moving a constant velocity across

the ice eventually comes to a stop. Does this
2. Does 2 kg of apples have twice the inertia or half the prove the Newton’s first law does not apply to all
inertia of 1 kg of apples? Explain your answer. situations?

3. If the pen on your desk is at rest, can you say that no 8. You are travelling in a school bus on a field trip. The
forces are acting on it? Explain your answer. driver has to apply the brakes quickly to prevent an
accident. Describe how your body would move in
response to this rapid braking action.

4. If the forces acting on the pen are balanced, is it

correct to say that the pen is at rest? Explain your
answer.
9. While travelling in Africa you are chased by a very
large elephant. Would it make more sense to run
in a straight line to get away or in a zigzag motion?
Explain your answer.

5. If you place a ball in the centre of a wagon and then

quickly push the wagon forward, in what direction
does the ball appear to go? Why?

114 Chapter 5 Newton’s Laws of Motion © Edvantage Interactive 2025

5.2 Newton’s Second Law of Motion

Warm Up
Take an empty spool of thread and wrap a string or thread around it three or four times, leaving the end loose so
you can pull on it. Place the spool on the floor and pull on the thread horizontally to make the spool move to the
right.

1. Based on your observations, what can you say about the direction of the force applied to the spool and the
acceleration of the spool?

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2. Would the direction of the force or the acceleration of the spool be affected if the thread were wrapped
around the spool in the opposite direction? Explain your answer.

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In his second law of motion, Newton dealt with the problem of what happens when
Defining Newton’s an unbalanced force acts on a body. Newton’s second law of motion states: If an
Second Law of unbalanced force acts on a body, the body will accelerate. The rate at which it accelerates
Motion depends directly on the unbalanced force and inversely on the mass of the body.

F
a=
m

The direction in which the body accelerates will be the same direction as the
unbalanced force. The measuring unit for force is the newton (N). The measuring unit
for mass is the kilogram (kg) and for acceleration is m/s2. Therefore, using F = ma, one
newton can be defined as the force needed to accelerate one kilogram at a rate of one
metre per second per second.
Whenever Newton’s second law is used, it is understood that the force F in the
equation F = ma is the unbalanced force acting on the body. This unbalanced force is also
called the net force. To calculate the unbalanced force acting on a 1.0 kg mass falling due
to gravity, you use Newton’s second law:
F = ma = 1.00 kg × 9.81 m/s2 = 9.81 kg•m/s2 = 9.81 N
To calculate the rate at which the mass accelerates, you rearrange Newton’s second
law to give:
F 9.81 N 9.81 kg•m/s2
a= = = = 9.81 m/s2
m 1.00 kg 1.00 kg

The acceleration of the mass is g or 9.81 m/s2.

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 Quick Check
1. A single engine plane has a mass of 1500 kg and acceleration of 0.400 m/s2. What is the thrust, or unbalanced
force on the plane?

2. What is the mass of a rocket that accelerates at 2.0 m/s2 and has a net force of 25 000 N?

3. Find the acceleration of a passenger jet that has a mass of 250 000 kg and provides an unbalanced force
of 50 000 N.

The example and problems in the Quick Check above involve only one unbalanced
Multiple Forces force. In other situations, like Sample Problem on the next page, there are more forces to
consider.
Remember that, in these problems, it is important to identify the forces that
create the unbalanced force. Figure 5.2.1 shows four different forces acting on a block.
The two vertical forces are the force of gravity and the normal force (the force exerted by
the floor on the block). The two horizontal forces are the applied force and the force of
friction.
The two vertical forces balance each other because the force of gravity and the
normal force equal each other in size and act in opposite directions. The unbalanced force
is the difference between the applied force and the friction force opposing the applied
force.

116 Chapter 5 Newton’s Laws of Motion © Edvantage Interactive 2025

 Sample Problem — Multiple Forces Acting on a Body
A 45.0 N block is being pushed along a floor, where the coefficient of kinetic friction is 0.333. If a force of 25.0 N is
applied, at what rate will the block accelerate? The mass of the block is 4.60 kg.
FN normal force

FN = Fg but
applied force > friction force
creating the unbalanced forces

applied force F Ffr friction force

Fg force of gravity

Figure 5.2.1 Forces acting on block

What to Think About How to Do It

1. Find the force of friction. Ffr = µFN = µFg = (0.333) × (45.0 N) = 15.0 N

2. Find the unbalanced force. unbalanced force = applied force – friction force

F = 25.0 N – 15.0 N = 10.0 N

3. Find the acceleration.

10.0 N = 2.17 m/s2
a = F = 4.60
m kg

© Edvantage Interactive 2025 Chapter 5 Newton’s Laws of Motion 117

 Practice Problems — Multiple Forces Acting on a Body
1. A net force of 20 N is acting on a falling object. The object experiences air resistance of 6.0 N. If acceleration
due to gravity is 9.8 m/s2, what is the mass of the object?

2. A 900 N person stands on two scales so that one foot is on each scale. What will each scale register in
Newtons?

3. What is the mass of a paratrooper who experiences an air resistance of 400 N and an acceleration of 4.5 m/s2
during a parachute jump.

4. A force of 50 N accelerates a 5.0 kg block at 6.0 m/s2 along a horizontal surface.

(a) What is the frictional force acting on the block?

(b) What is the coefficient of friction?

118 Chapter 5 Newton’s Laws of Motion © Edvantage Interactive 2025

 Investigation 5.2.1 Newton’s Second Law of Motion
Purpose
To investigate how the change in speed of a cart is affected by
(a) the amount of unbalanced force, and (b) the amount of mass in the cart

Procedure
Part 1: Setting up and moving the cart
1. Set up the apparatus as shown in Figure 5.2.2(a). Start with three 200 g masses in the cart. Suspend a mass of
200 g from the end of a string, which passes over a pulley at the end of the bench. The force of gravity on this
mass is 1.96 N or approximately 2.0 N.
2. Lift one end of your laboratory table so that the cart rolls toward the pulley at a steady speed. This can be
checked with a ticker tape and your recording timer. If your bench cannot be lifted, do the experiment on a
length of board, which can be raised at one end. What this lifting does is balance friction with a little help from
gravity.
3. The class will now share the task of preparing and analyzing ticker-tape records of speed vs. time for each of
the situations in Figure 5.2.2. Each lab group of two students will choose one of the eight set-ups and prepare
two tapes or one for each partner. Note that the whole system of cart-plus-string-plus-hanging-mass moves as
one unit. The mass of the whole system must be kept constant. This means that once you build your system you
must not add any additional masses.
Varying the Unbalanced Force Varying the Mass
(a) F = 2.0 N (e) F = 2.0 N

M = 1 cart + 200 g
M = 1 cart + 800 g (1 mass unit)

(b) F = 4.0 N (f ) F = 2.0 N

M = 2 cart + 400 g
M = 1 cart + 800 g (2 mass units)

(c) F = 6.0 N (g) F = 2.0 N

M = 3 cart + 600 g
M = 1 cart + 800 g (3 mass units)

(d) F = 8.0 N (h) F = 2.0 N

M = 1 cart + 800 g M = 4 cart + 800 g

(4 mass units)

Figure 5.2.2 Cart and mass set-ups

© Edvantage Interactive 2025 Chapter 5 Newton’s Laws of Motion 119

 Part 2: Preparing Your Own Tape
1. The class as a team will prepare and analyze tapes for each of the situations in Figure 5.2.2. If your class is large
enough, compare duplicated data for any potential sources of error.
2. Use the technique you used to measure acceleration in an earlier chapter. Remember that a group of six dots
represents 0.10 s and that the average speeds for each interval are plotted mid-way through each time interval
and not at the end of the interval.
3. Prepare your graph. Label it carefully with the unbalanced force used (2.0 N, 4.0 N, 6.0 N, or 8.0 N) and the mass
of the cart system.
4. The most important measurement you need is the acceleration of the cart. You get this from the slope of the
graph. Express the acceleration in cm/s2. You will share this information with the rest of the class.

Part 3: Analyzing Class Data

1. Prepare the following tables of data, summarizing class results.

Table 5.2.1 Acceleration vs. Unbalanced Force Table 5.2.2 Acceleration vs Mass (unbalanced force constant)
(mass constant)

Unbalanced Force Acceleration 1 1

Mass, m Acceleration, a ,
F (N) a (cm/s2) mass m
(mass units) (cm/s2)
0 0 (mass units–1)

2.0 1.0 1.0

4.0 2.0 0.50

6.0 3.0 0.33

8.0 4.0 0.25

2. Plot a graph of acceleration (y-axis) against unbalanced force (x-axis).

3. Plot a graph of acceleration against mass.
4. Plot a graph of acceleration against the reciprocal of mass (1/m).

Concluding Questions
1. Describe how the speed of a cart changes when a constant unbalanced force pulls it.
2. According to your first graph (a vs. F), how does acceleration depend on unbalanced force? Does your graph
suggest that acceleration is directly proportional to unbalanced force? Support your answer with your data.
3 According to your second and third graphs, how does the acceleration of the cart vary when the mass is
doubled, tripled, and quadrupled?
4 Write an equation for the third graph, complete with the numerical value and units for the slope.
5 What were some of the experimental difficulties you encountered in this investigation, which would make it
difficult to obtain ideal results?

120 Chapter 5 Newton’s Laws of Motion © Edvantage Interactive 2025

5.2 Review Questions
1. What unbalanced force is needed to accelerate a 4. What is the mass of a rock if a force of 2.4 × 103 N
5.0 kg cart at 5.0 m/s2? makes it accelerate at a rate of 4.0 × 101 m/s2?

2. A net force of 7.5 × 104 N acts on a spacecraft of

mass 3.0 × 104 kg.
(a) At what rate will the spacecraft accelerate?

5. A fully loaded military rocket has a mass of

3.0 × 106 kg, and the force of gravity on it at ground
level is 2.9 × 107 N.
(a) At what rate will the rocket accelerate during
(b) A
 ssuming constant acceleration is maintained, lift-off, if the engines provide a thrust of
how fast will the spacecraft be moving after 25 s, 3.3 × 107 N?
if its initial speed was 5.0 × 103 m/s?

3. A model rocket has a mass of 0.12 kg. It accelerates (b) Why will this acceleration not remain constant?
vertically to 60.0 m/s in 1.2 s.
(a) What is its average acceleration?

6. A boy and his skateboard have a combined mass of

(b) What is the unbalanced force on the rocket? 60.0 kg. After an initial shove, the boy starts coasting
at 5.5 m/s along a level driveway. Friction brings
him to rest in 5.0 s. The combined force of gravity on
the boy and skateboard is 5.9 × 102 N. What is the
average coefficient of rolling friction between the
driveway and the skateboard wheels?

(c) I f the force of gravity on the rocket is 1.2 N,

what is the total thrust of its engine?

© Edvantage Interactive 2025 Chapter 5 Newton’s Laws of Motion 121