Also the total amount of energy in a closed system never changes. Along with my wonderful partner Kelvin e thought that energy in a closed system will remain constant throughout unless there is an outside energy such as “work” or friction. We also discussed the differences and similarities between closed and open systems. We wanted to test this theory with the lab provided to us. Materials Before we start any lab we need the proper materials. The material Kelvin and I used for this lab are the PASO car with a mass of . Egg or 250 g,a track a black smart pulley with a radius of 0. 025 meters, an Apple Macro Pro, string to a desired length, a hook with washers approximately 6 grams each, USB connector, scissors to UT string to appropriate length, and Earth with a gravity of 9. 8 m/s Lab Procedure Initially, we set up our track from some desirable point from the table and we made it touch the top of the edge of the table. We placed the car at the beginning of the track which was tied to a tight string.
The string was running over the pulley and was holding the washers on the other end at a certain height. The car’s height didn’t really matter because it wasn’t changing at all throughout the lab. Each data run, I let the car go and it would go until the washers hit the ground. Kelvin watched the Asher and when they hit the ground he would press stop before they hit to find the maximum velocity at that point. In other words, the gravitational energy (GAPE) of the washers is to be converted into kinetic energy for both the washers and car.
Due to time constraints, Kelvin and I were only able to get a limited amount of data runs and we only managed to change the mass of the washers and the car’s mass remained the same. Please refer to Figure 1 below for a visual depiction of the scenario Error Analysis After conducting this experiment there were many errors we experienced. One major source of error was that after the lab we forgot to measure the height from the floor to the top of the pulley. This might have changed the energies slightly because of our estimation.
Another source of error is that there might have been friction or slight beginning and at the end. These energies could’ve made the difference. In other words, this lab wasn’t in a completely controlled environment. Conclusion After completing the lab we realized that the conservation of energy is true and that our data was only affected because of the error that we made. To improve this experiment we could implement newer technologies and more advanced technological instruments that take data accurately.
Also, we can improve the environment by adding stoppers on the track or getting washers of the exact same mass so this doesn’t affect the kinetic energy or gravitational energy. Overall, this experiment has taught Kelvin and I a lot more information regarding the law of conservation of energy. By making the previously mentioned changes and repeated the lab numerous times will aid in getting fruitful and generic results
