Lab #6

Atwood Machine

Name___________________

Lab Partner______________

Date Experiment Performed__________

Date Submitted__________
Atwood Machine SN1 Lab # 6 1

WARNING: This lab uses moving masses that can fall and potentially cause serious injury.
Always follow the safety rules set out by your teacher. Also:
• Ensure all masses are secured so they cannot become detached during motion.
• Do not let the masses hit the pulley or the ground, as that can cause them to fall.
• Do not swing the masses.

Objective
Apply the Laws of motion to model the motion of masses connected by pulleys, while making the
model insensitive to resistive forces.

Introduction
In the previous experiment, many groups observed small, but nonetheless significant, deviations
from the intercept and slope predicted by the model. It may be conjectured that this model failure
arose because it didn’t take friction into account.

To investigate this, we could choose to add friction, drag, etc. to the model. This is, however, difficult
to do: it introduces multiple unknown frictional coefficients, and air drag is a force that depends on
the speed (i.e., its effect is non-uniform), complicating the analysis.

A more elegant approach is to make the experiment insensitive to resistive forces.

The Atwood machine consists of two masses connected by a string suspended one or more pulleys.
In our apparatus, we use two pulleys to provide enough horizontal separation between the moving
masses that they don’t hit each other.

If the two masses are identical, there is no net force and thus no acceleration. If one of the masses is
slightly larger than the other, then there is a relatively small net force caused by the difference in the
gravitational forces on the two masses, which then results in acceleration. The actual values of the
acceleration, though, are also influenced by resistive forces such as friction (e.g., at the pulleys) and
air resistance. As these are resistive forces, they act in a direction opposite to the velocity (see Figure
1).
Atwood Machine SN1 Lab # 6 2

(a) (b)

Figure 1: The forces acting on an Atwood machine while (a) the

system is slowing down and (b) the system is speeding up.

You should be able to show (and your teacher may require that you do) that the accelerations in the
two cases shown in Figure 1 can be written as:
(𝐹𝑅1 − 𝐹𝑅2 )
𝑎− = 𝑎0 + , (1a)
𝑀total
(𝐹𝑅1 − 𝐹𝑅2 )
𝑎+ = 𝑎0 − , (1b)
𝑀total
𝑀−𝑚 Δ𝑚
where 𝑎0 = 𝑀+𝑚 𝑔 = 𝑀 𝑔, the acceleration that would be expected if no resistive forces were
total
present. We can isolate 𝑎0 by taking the average of 𝑎+ and 𝑎− :

|𝑎+ | + |𝑎− | Δ𝑚 (2)

𝑎0 = = 𝑔
2 𝑀total

Now compare equation (2) with the equation of a straight line: y = mx + b. If 𝑎0 is plotted against
Δ𝑚
the fractional mass difference 𝑀 , the graph should be linear with a predictable slope and y-
total
intercept.

This is very similar to the theory of the Newton’s 2nd Law lab; this time, however, we’ve been careful
to treat friction and other resistive forces as part of the model. Instead of the bare acceleration, we
must average the accelerations 𝑎− (while the system is slowing down) and 𝑎+ (while the system is
speeding up) to cancel the effects of resistive forces. In this way, this experiment is really a
refinement of the Newton’s 2nd Law lab, designed to be insensitive to resistive forces.

Conditions for testing the hypothetical model:

Atwood Machine SN1 Lab # 6 3

Δ𝑚
If we graph the bare acceleration 𝑎0 on the ___-axis and 𝑀 on the ___ - axis, then the
total
hypothetical model predicts that:
• the slope of the graph will be constant and equal to _______, and
• the y-intercept of the graph will be _______.

Null Hypothesis: The model is consistent with observation. The slope of the graph does not
deviate significantly from ______ m/s2 and the y-intercept of the graph does not deviate
significantly from ______ m/s2.

Alternative Hypothesis: The model is not consistent with observation. Either the slope,
intercept, or both deviate significantly from their predicted values.
A significant difference (at the 95% confidence level) means (a) the values differ by more than
1.98 standard errors, (b) the predicted value falls outside the 95% confidence interval, or (c) the
p-value of the associated statistical test is < 0.05 (these are all equivalent).

Materials and Methods

1. Assemble the following: 2 ⨉ 200g standard masses, 10 ⨉ 5g standard masses, 2 ⨉ mass

hangers, and a length of string about 2.5 m long. Mass all of these on the digital scale
and record the value of 𝑀total . For the uncertainty in this measure, assume the scale
reads correctly to the nearest ½ g.

2. Hang the string over the pulleys (using the provided steps). On each end, hang a mass
hanger, a 200 g standard mass, and 5 ⨉ 5-g masses. Double-check that the system is
balanced (it shouldn’t accelerate when balanced).

3. On Capstone, click the interface where the cable from the pulley is connected and choose
Photogate with pulley. In the Timer setup tab, enter the arc length 0.015 m; click Table &
Graph, choose Linear speed for the y-axis and for the first table column.

4. Move one 5g mass from one side to the other (this corresponds to a Δ𝑚 of 10 g). Hold the
lighter side so that the system is not accelerating.
Atwood Machine SN1 Lab # 6 4

5. Start taking data. Gently push the lighter mass downwards, making sure that the masses move
in uniform motion and are not swinging. It should slow down, come to a stop, reverse
direction, and speed up. Catch the lighter mass on its way up before it hits the pulley.

Catch the lighter mass on

Gently push the lighter Do NOT bend down to
its way up before it hits the
mass downwards. catch the heavier mass
pulley.

6. In Capstone, plot your speed (remember, the Smart Pulleys can only capture the speed, not
the direction of motion) vs. time graphs and use them to identify 𝑎− (the acceleration while
slowing down), 𝑎+ (the acceleration while speeding up), and their respective uncertainties.
Note: you should record only the absolute values as the sign is not meaningful (why?).

7. Repeat this procedure, each time transferring a 5-g standard mass from the lighter side to the
heavier side. How many data points should you take?

Results
1. Plot a graph that will allow you to check your two predictions. Use Excel’s line of best fit
function to analyze your data.
2. Use the provided app to gather the statistics needed to decide whether your conditions for
accepting the hypothesis have been met.

Discussion
• Do your observations support the model and its assumptions, or do they indicate a significant
deviation? Provide evidence for your decision.
a. If you reject the null hypothesis (i.e., if you establish significant deviations), what do
you think is missing from the model? Explain.
b. If you do not reject the null hypothesis (i.e., if you find the model adequately
describes observation), explain how your objective has been reached, referring
directly to your hypothesis.
• What role did the uncertainty of your measurements play in answering this question?