In the experimental setup shown, a car has one end of a string attached to it, and the other end is attached to a fixed number of metal discs. The car moves along the table and two probes sense the motion of the car. The probes send information to a computer that displays the acceleration and velocity of the experiment. When looking at these results, which quantity stays constant during the trials?
A car at the one end of the table is tied to a hanger at the other end of the table using a string and a pully. The hanger is hanging over the side of the table while the car is placed flat on the surface of the table. The hanger can support the metal discs. A ruler, a laptop, and other equipment are also placed on the table.
(1 point)
Responses
velocity
velocity
mass
mass
force
force
acceleration
The quantity that stays constant during the trials is mass.
In this experimental setup, the quantity that stays constant during the trials is the force. The force exerted by the car on the metal discs remains consistent throughout the trials.
In this experimental setup, there are several quantities being measured and displayed by the computer, including acceleration and velocity. The question asks which quantity stays constant during the trials.
To determine which quantity stays constant, we need to understand the definitions of acceleration and velocity. Acceleration refers to the rate of change of velocity, while velocity refers to the speed and direction of an object's motion.
In this experiment, the car is attached to a fixed number of metal discs via a string. This means that the mass of the system remains constant throughout the trials. Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object and does not change unless additional mass is added or subtracted.
Since the mass remains constant, the force acting on the system will also remain constant unless an external force is applied. Force is the product of mass and acceleration, and in this case, the mass is fixed. Therefore, unless an external force is acting on the system, the force and acceleration will not change.
However, the velocity of the car can change during the trials. The car might speed up or slow down depending on the net force acting on it. Therefore, velocity is not the quantity that stays constant in this experiment.
Based on this reasoning, the correct answer is: mass.