Rubberband Cart Lab

Purpose: In this lab we understood the big question: How are energy and velocity related? To answer this question we used an air hockey like machine, rubber band, cart, and motion sensor. We would pull back the cart with the rubber band .01 meter back until we did .05 meters. By doing this we were able to record the velocity of the cart going through the sensor from .01 m to .05 m. We tested two trials for this lab.

Key Information:
We repeated the same procedure twice, so we pulled back the red cart .01 m, then .02 m, then .03 m, then so on until .05 m. After recording our measurements for velocity we averaged the velocity squared. By using the graphing app we were able to get a graph like this:

With this lab we figured out a visual that helps us visualize the transfer of energy from one form to another.For example, in this lab we used a rubber band to push the cart. The visual, LOL Chart, helped us see the transfer from the rubber band to the cart.

Key Conclusion:
From this graph we were able to find its slope = .528 and put it into y=mx+b form--> y=.528x + .005
This is where we figure out the relationship between energy and velocity. Instead of y=mx+b we put it into K= 1/2 mv^2. K stands for the kinetic energy which is used when an object is moving, like in this lab we measured the kinetic energy when the cart moved passed the sensor. We use 1/2m because the slope = 1/s mass of an object and the v^2 is used because we are using velocity squared to make the equation become linear. We were also able to derive another equation: Ug = (m)(g)(h). Ug stands for gravitational energy, m stands for force and h stands for the distance from the object to the ground.This is how energy and velocity are related.

Real World Connection:
A roller coaster is an example of this lab because it involves both kinetic/spring energy and gravitational force. The roller coaster car is like the cart in the lab and the rubber band is like the spring that helps push the roller coaster car, which explains why spring energy is involved. Gravitational force is used because the roller coaster car is off the ground.