I. Marble Roll Lab Data Collection:

Marble
Mass (g)
Distance carton moved (cm)
#1
7g
.5cm
#2
44g
36cm
#3
75g
40cm

II. Marble Roll Lab Questions:

2. In this experiment, at what position on the inclined plane do the marbles have the most potential energy? Explain why.
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3. In this experiment, at what position on the inclined plane do the marbles have the most kinetic energy? Explain why.
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4. As the mass of the marbles increased, how did that change the amount of potential and kinetic energy of the marble? Explain why.
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5. If we increased the height of the ramp to twice its original height, how would this affect the overall Kinetic & Potential Energy of the investigation? Explain why.
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6. The total energy of the investigation is called its Mechanical Energy. The Mechanical Energy of an investigation is the total amount of Kinetic + Potential Energy. During the investigation, what happens to the total energy of the system? Explain why.
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2. The marbles have the most potential energy when they are at the highest point on the inclined plane. This is because potential energy is directly related to the height of an object above a reference point. As the marble moves up the inclined plane, it gains height and therefore gains potential energy.

3. The marbles have the most kinetic energy when they are at the bottom of the inclined plane. This is because kinetic energy is related to the speed of an object. As the marble rolls down the inclined plane, its speed increases and therefore its kinetic energy increases.

4. As the mass of the marbles increased, it would increase both the potential and kinetic energy of the marble. This is because both potential and kinetic energy are directly proportional to mass. As the mass increases, the potential energy increases because there is more mass to raise to a certain height. Similarly, the kinetic energy increases because there is more mass to accelerate.

5. If we increased the height of the ramp to twice its original height, it would increase both the overall potential and kinetic energy of the investigation. This is because potential energy is directly related to height, so doubling the height would double the potential energy. Additionally, the marble would have a longer distance to travel down the ramp, allowing it to gain more speed and therefore more kinetic energy.

6. During the investigation, the total energy of the system remains constant. This is because of the principle of conservation of energy, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed. In the marble roll lab, the potential energy is converted into kinetic energy as the marble rolls down the inclined plane, but the total energy of the system remains the same. Some energy may be lost to friction or air resistance, but overall, the total energy remains constant.

2. The marbles have the most potential energy at the highest position on the inclined plane. This is because potential energy is directly related to the height of an object above a reference point. As the marbles move higher up the inclined plane, their distance from the reference point increases, resulting in an increase in potential energy.

3. The marbles have the most kinetic energy at the lowest position on the inclined plane. Kinetic energy is directly related to the speed and mass of an object. As the marbles move down the inclined plane, their speed increases due to the force of gravity pulling them downwards. This increase in speed results in an increase in kinetic energy.

4. As the mass of the marbles increases, both the potential and kinetic energy of the marble also increase. This is because both potential and kinetic energy are directly proportional to the mass of an object. When the mass of the marbles increases, the energy needed to move them also increases, leading to higher potential and kinetic energy.

5. If we increased the height of the ramp to twice its original height, it would result in an increase in both the overall kinetic and potential energy of the investigation. This is because potential energy is directly related to the height of an object, and increasing the height of the ramp would increase the potential energy of the marbles. Additionally, as the marbles roll down the higher ramp, they would gain more speed and kinetic energy due to the increased gravitational force acting on them.

6. During the investigation, the total energy of the system, known as the mechanical energy, remains constant. This is because energy is conserved in a closed system, and any decrease in potential energy is compensated by an equal increase in kinetic energy (and vice versa). As the marbles roll down the inclined plane, their potential energy decreases while their kinetic energy increases, but the total mechanical energy of the system remains the same.

2. To determine the position on the inclined plane where the marbles have the most potential energy, you need to understand that potential energy depends on height. In this case, the marbles are positioned higher up the inclined plane. So, the position where the marbles have the most potential energy is at the highest point on the inclined plane. This is because potential energy is related to the height of an object and the force acting on it due to gravity.

3. On the other hand, to identify the position on the inclined plane where the marbles have the most kinetic energy, you need to consider that kinetic energy depends on the speed or velocity of an object. In this experiment, the marbles will have the most kinetic energy when they are at the lowest point on the inclined plane. This is because as the marbles roll down the slope, they gain speed and their velocity increases, resulting in more kinetic energy.

4. As the mass of the marbles increased, it would change the amount of potential and kinetic energy. The potential energy of an object is directly proportional to its mass and the height from which it is dropped. So, as the mass of the marbles increased, the potential energy would also increase, given that the height remains constant.

Similarly, the kinetic energy of an object is directly proportional to its mass and the square of its velocity. As the mass of the marbles increased, the kinetic energy would also increase if the velocity remained constant. However, keep in mind that in this experiment, the distance the carton moved is recorded, not the velocity of the marbles. Hence, it is difficult to determine the exact relationship between the mass and kinetic energy without the information about the time taken to cover the distance.

5. If the height of the ramp is increased to twice its original height, this would affect the overall kinetic and potential energy of the investigation. Specifically, both the kinetic and potential energy would increase. The potential energy would increase because potential energy is directly proportional to the height, and doubling the height would double the potential energy. The kinetic energy would also increase because as the marbles roll down from a higher position, they will gain more speed and velocity, resulting in higher kinetic energy.

6. The total energy of the investigation is called the mechanical energy, which is the sum of the kinetic and potential energy. During the investigation, the total energy of the system would remain constant. This is due to the law of conservation of energy, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred from one form to another. As the marbles roll down the inclined plane, potential energy is converted to kinetic energy. However, the total amount of energy in the system would remain constant as long as no other external forces, such as friction, are present.