Lab 3: Conservation of Mechanical Energy

Introduction
The experiment is designed to study a system where the total mechanical energy
remains constant. The system in the experiment consists of an air track glider, a
measuring comb, and two springs that connect from the glider to both ends of the
air track. The energy of the system is transferred between the kinetic energy of the
moving glider and the potential energy of the spring that exerts a force in the
opposite direction of the movement of the glider. In order to calculate the amount of
potential energy stored in the spring, it is necessary to determine the value of the
spring constant, k, by hanging masses over a pulley and measuring how far the
glider move to its new equilibrium position. Calculating the spring constant is the
first part of the experiment, the second part involves the recording of the
movement of the glider. The photogate will collect the time intervals between teeth
of the measuring comb as they pass the infrared beam. The constant spacing
between each tooth of the measuring comb makes it easier to calculate the position
and velocity of the glider. The position and velocity can be used to calculate the
potential and kinetic energy of the system.

Theory
The goal of the experiment is to witness a system that conserves its mechanical
energy. In order for this to occur, the kinetic friction between the glider and the
surface must be reduced to near zero. This is possible by turning on the air track, as
it reduces the amount of friction between the two by pushing the glider slightly
above the track.

One can determine the spring constant using Hookes law which states that the
restoring force exerted by a spring is proportional to the springs displacement from
equilibrium. The proportionality of the two values is known as the spring constant, k.
To calculate the spring constant in the experiment, one can exert a known
horizontal forcer on the glider and measure the distance the glider moves from its
original position. This horizontal force will be tension in a string that will be
connected to a weight hanging vertically due to gravity, a force much easier to
calculate.

F y =T Mg=0

F x =T k ( xx 0 )
Mg=k ( xx 0 )
This equation can be expressed as the equation for a straight line y = mx +
b, where y = Mg and the slope of the line is the spring constant.
The second part of the experiment involves a system that conserves
mechanical energy. According to the law of conservation of energy, the total
energy in a system can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only change
location and form. The experiment only deals with mechanical energy. The
energy of the system transfers from potential to kinetic energy. Classical
physics predicts that any mechanical energy lost as the glider travels over
the airtrack is due to kinetic friction between the surfaces.
When the glider is pulled past the photogate, it moves in the opposite
direction it was pulled due to the restoring force of the stretched spring. All
the potential energy stored inside the stretched string continuously transfers
to the movement of the glider, until all the energy is transferred to the
kinetic energy of the glider. When the energy of the system is purely kinetic,
the glider reaches its equilibrium point and is neither stretching nor
compressing the spring. The glider continues to move toward the spring,
compressing it and transferring its kinetic energy to the potential energy in
the compressed spring. When the spring reaches is maximum compression,
energy in the system is purely potential and the glider stops moving. The
spring exerts a restoring force pushing the glider toward the equilibrium
point and transferring its potential energy back into the movement of the
glider.

Procedure
Part I: Calculating the Spring Constant
Place a pulley at the end of the airtrack. Run a string hanging over the pulley
and connect it to the end of the glider. Record the mass of several weights
and the glider using the pan balance. Hang one known weight horizontally on
the string so that the tension pulls on the glider horizontally. Let the system
come to equilibrium and record the gliders position from the scale on the
airtrack. Use six different masses, including the value for when there is no
mass or m = 0, and recording the corresponding equilibrium distances that
the glider moves. Take these values and put them into an Excel spreadsheet.
Graph the results in a scatter plot with the distance in meters at the x-axis
and the force applied to the glider on the y-axis. Use Excel to create a
regression line that related all the points together. The value of the spring
constant, k, will be the slope of the regression line created by Excel.
Part II: Recording the Glider

For this portion of the experiment, setup the PSW with a single digital input
with the smart pulley as the choice of digital sensor. This will allow you to
record the time intervals as the photogate is blocked by the measuring comb
on the glider. Turn the airtrack on and let the glider move to its equilibrium
position. Position the photogate over the glider so that the teeth of the
measuring comb block the infrared light. Check to make sure that the
measuring comb is horizontal and it is firmly attached to the glider so it
doesnt slip. Test to make sure that the photogate registers every tooth by
moving the glider along the track and verifying that there is a number
recorded by the PSW for every tooth that passes the photogate. Choose an
equilibrium tooth and place the photogate approximately at the tooth. To
start the run, pull the glider to the right until the measuring comb is outside
the photogate. Press record on the PSW and release the glider. Catch it and
stop recording after it has passed the equilibrium tooth. Repeat the process
for three different choices of equilibrium tooth and choose the best result.

Data
Eq. (m)
0.902
0.738
0.574
0.492
0.815
0.653
0.702

Mass(kg)
0
0.1
0.2
0.25
0.05
0.15
0.128

Weight (N)
0
0.98
1.96
2.45
0.49
1.47
1.2544

Spring Constant (k)

3
2.5

f(x) = - 6x + 5.41
2

Force [N]

1.5
1
0.5
0
0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7 0.75 0.8 0.85 0.9 0.95

Distance [m]
Figure 1: Shows the plot for the results of first part of the experiment. The spring
constant was calculated to be k = 6.00 by finding the slope of the trendline created
by the data points. Note that the spring constant is independent of the value of the
y-intercept. The y-intercept is the original position of the glider times the spring
constant (b = -kx0).

Distance

t (s)

0.002

0.0112

0.004

0.0111

0.006

0.0107

0.008

0.0104

0.01

0.01

0.012

0.0097

0.014

0.0096

0.016

0.0094

Velocity
0.35714
3
0.36036
0.37383
2
0.38461
5
0.4
0.41237
1
0.41666
7
0.42553
2

PE
0.01009
2
0.00874
8
0.0075
0.00634
8
0.00529
2
0.00433
2
0.00346
8
0.0027

KE
0.01440
1
0.01466
1
0.01577
8
0.01670
1
0.01806
4
0.01919
9
0.01960
1
0.02044
4

x
0.058
0.054
0.05
0.046
0.042
0.038
0.034
0.03

TE
0.02449
3
0.02340
9
0.02327
8
0.02304
9
0.02335
6
0.02353
1
0.02306
9
0.02314
4

0.018

0.0091

0.02

10

0.009

0.022

11

0.0089

0.024

12

0.0089

0.43956
0.44444
4
0.44943
8
0.44943
8

0.026

13

0.0087

0.45977

0.028

14

0.0087

0.45977

0.03

15

0.0087

0.45977

0.032

16

0.0087

0.45977

0.034

17

0.0087

0.45977

0.036

18

0.0087

0.45977

0.038

19

0.0087

0.45977

0.04

20

0.0091

0.042

21

0.0089

0.43956
0.44943
8

0.044

22

0.0091

0.43956

0.046

23

0.0091

0.048

24

0.0094

0.05

25

0.0094

0.052

26

0.0098

0.054

27

0.0104

0.056

28

0.0109

0.43956
0.42553
2
0.42553
2
0.40816
3
0.38461
5
0.36697
2

0.058

29

0.0108

0.06

30

0.0112

0.062

31

0.0118

0.064

32

0.0124

0.066

33

0.0138

0.068

34

0.0149

0.07
0.072

35
36

0.0167
0.0201

0.37037
0.35714
3
0.33898
3
0.32258
1
0.28985
5
0.26845
6
0.23952
1
0.19900

0.00202
8
0.00145
2
0.00097
2
0.00058
8
0.0003
0.00010
8
0.00001
2
0.00001
2
0.00010
8
0.0003
0.00058
8
0.00097
2
0.00145
2
0.00202
8
0.0027
0.00346
8
0.00433
2
0.00529
2
0.00634
8
0.0075
0.00874
8
0.01009
2
0.01153
2
0.01306
8
0.0147
0.01642
8
0.01825
2
0.02017

0.02181
4
0.02230
1
0.02280
5
0.02280
5
0.02386
6
0.02386
6
0.02386
6
0.02386
6
0.02386
6
0.02386
6
0.02386
6
0.02181
4
0.02280
5
0.02181
4
0.02181
4
0.02044
4
0.02044
4
0.01880
9
0.01670
1
0.01520
4
0.01548
7
0.01440
1
0.01297
3
0.01174
8
0.00948
5
0.00813
7
0.00647
7
0.00447

0.026
0.022
0.018
0.014
0.01
0.006
0.002
-0.002
-0.006
-0.01
-0.014
-0.018
-0.022
-0.026
-0.03
-0.034
-0.038
-0.042
-0.046
-0.05
-0.054
-0.058
-0.062
-0.066
-0.07
-0.074
-0.078
-0.082

0.02384
2
0.02375
3
0.02377
7
0.02339
3
0.02416
6
0.02397
4
0.02387
8
0.02387
8
0.02397
4
0.02416
6
0.02445
4
0.02278
6
0.02425
7
0.02384
2
0.02451
4
0.02391
2
0.02477
6
0.02410
1
0.02304
9
0.02270
4
0.02423
5
0.02449
3
0.02450
5
0.02481
6
0.02418
5
0.02456
5
0.02472
9
0.02464

0.074

37

0.0272

0.076

38

0.1097

5
0.14705
9
0.03646
3

2
0.02218
8

1
0.00244
2

3
-0.086

0.02463

0.0243

0.00015

-0.09

0.02445

Conservation of Energy in mass/spring system

0.03
0.03

f(x) = 0.02x + 0.02

0.02

Energy [J]

0.02
0.01
0.01
0
0

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.05

0.06

0.07

0.08

Distance [m]

Figure 2: Shows the plot for the results of the second part of the experiment where
the equilibrium tooth was 15 and the mass of the system was 225.8 grams. The
blue diamonds represent the potential energy of the system, stored in the spring.
The red squares represent the kinetic energy of the system. The green triangles
represent the total mechanical energy of the system. Note that the trend line for the
total energy has a positive slope meaning the mechanical energy of the system
increased as the glider traveled. This plot assumes that the springs connected to
the glider are ideal, having no mass or damping.

Error Calculation
The error in calculating the spring constant can be found using
k=

2
2
k
k
k
M +
x +
x
M
x
x0 0

)(

)(

k
g
=
M xx 0
k Mg
= 2
x
x
k Mg
=
x 0 x0 2
Eq. (m)
Mass(kg)
0.902
0
0.738
0.1
0.574
0.2
0.492
0.25
0.815
0.05
0.653
0.15
0.702
0.128
Average Error

k Error
0.0054
0.03
0.0155
0.0168
0.056
0.02
0.0257
0.0242

The error in calculating the kinetic energy can be found using

KE=

KE
M
M

KE v
=
M 2

The error in calculating the potential energy can be found using

PE=

PE
k
k

PE (xx 0 )
=
k
2

The error in calculating the total energy can be found by adding the error in
potential and kinetic energy together.

KE
0.014401
0.014661
0.015778
0.016701
0.018064
0.019199
0.019601
0.020444
0.021814
0.022301
0.022805
0.022805
0.023866
0.023866
0.023866
0.023866
0.023866
0.023866
0.023866
0.021814
0.022805
0.021814
0.021814
0.020444
0.020444
0.018809
0.016701
0.015204
0.015487
0.014401
0.012973
0.011748
0.009485
0.008137
0.006477
0.004471

PE
0.010092
0.008748
0.0075
0.006348
0.005292
0.004332
0.003468
0.0027
0.002028
0.001452
0.000972
0.000588
0.0003
0.000108
0.000012
0.000012
0.000108
0.0003
0.000588
0.000972
0.001452
0.002028
0.0027
0.003468
0.004332
0.005292
0.006348
0.0075
0.008748
0.010092
0.011532
0.013068
0.0147
0.016428
0.018252
0.020172

TE
0.024493
0.023409
0.023278
0.023049
0.023356
0.023531
0.023069
0.023144
0.023842
0.023753
0.023777
0.023393
0.024166
0.023974
0.023878
0.023878
0.023974
0.024166
0.024454
0.022786
0.024257
0.023842
0.024514
0.023912
0.024776
0.024101
0.023049
0.022704
0.024235
0.024493
0.024505
0.024816
0.024185
0.024565
0.024729
0.024643

Error in KE
3.18878E-05
3.24649E-05
3.49375E-05
3.69822E-05
0.00004
4.25125E-05
4.34028E-05
4.52694E-05
4.83033E-05
4.93827E-05
5.04987E-05
5.04987E-05
5.28471E-05
5.28471E-05
5.28471E-05
5.28471E-05
5.28471E-05
5.28471E-05
5.28471E-05
4.83033E-05
5.04987E-05
4.83033E-05
4.83033E-05
4.52694E-05
4.52694E-05
4.16493E-05
3.69822E-05
3.36672E-05
3.42936E-05
3.18878E-05
2.87274E-05
2.60146E-05
2.1004E-05
1.80172E-05
1.43426E-05
9.90075E-06

Error in PE
4.07044E-05
3.52836E-05
0.00003025
2.56036E-05
2.13444E-05
1.74724E-05
1.39876E-05
0.00001089
8.1796E-06
5.8564E-06
3.9204E-06
2.3716E-06
0.00000121
4.356E-07
4.84E-08
4.84E-08
4.356E-07
0.00000121
2.3716E-06
3.9204E-06
5.8564E-06
8.1796E-06
0.00001089
1.39876E-05
1.74724E-05
2.13444E-05
2.56036E-05
0.00003025
3.52836E-05
4.07044E-05
4.65124E-05
5.27076E-05
0.00005929
6.62596E-05
7.36164E-05
8.13604E-05

Error in TE
7.25922E-05
6.77485E-05
6.51875E-05
6.25858E-05
6.13444E-05
5.99849E-05
5.73904E-05
5.61594E-05
5.64829E-05
5.52391E-05
5.44191E-05
5.28703E-05
5.40571E-05
5.32827E-05
5.28955E-05
5.28955E-05
5.32827E-05
5.40571E-05
5.52187E-05
5.22237E-05
5.63551E-05
5.64829E-05
5.91933E-05
5.9257E-05
6.27418E-05
6.29937E-05
6.25858E-05
6.39172E-05
6.95772E-05
7.25922E-05
7.52398E-05
7.87222E-05
8.0294E-05
8.42768E-05
8.7959E-05
9.12611E-05

0.002442
0.00015

0.022188
0.02463
0.0243
0.02445
Average Error

5.40657E-06
3.32389E-07
3.85327E-05

8.94916E-05
0.00009801
0.000026378

9.48982E-05
9.83424E-05
6.49107E-05

Analysis
The results of the experiment prove that the total energy of the system
remained constant. The total energy of the experiment was expected to
slightly decrease over time as a result of the friction force between the glider
and airtrack. However, the total energy measured in the experiment actually
increased over time, as illustrated by the slope of the trendline for the total
energy in Figure 2, 0.015 Joules per meter. This means some force was
applied to the system which added mechanical energy, rather than the force
of friction causing a loss in mechanical energy. This could possibly be
attributed to several errors: measuring the glider incorrectly, having the
measuring comb slide during the experiment, and making a mistake in
position the photogate. If there was an error in measuring the glider, this
would have caused a major error in calculating the kinetic energy of the
system. If the mass of the glider was measured to be 50 grams under its
actual mass, the total energy of the experiment would have decreased as the
glider moved at a rate of -0.024 Joules per meter. While the glider was
moving there was a possibility that the measuring comb could have slid if it
wasnt secured in the groove of the glider. This error could have affected the
measurements taken by the photogate and caused an error in both the
potential and kinetic energy calculations. If the comb slid in the opposite
direction of the moving glider, it could have caused the photogate to record
the same tooth for several points. A mistake in the positioning of the
photogate could have caused the equilibrium point to be off by 2mm. This
would have affected the data collected and would have affected the
calculation for potential energy and kinetic energy.
Another source of error that could have been encountered during the
experiment was not attaching a thread through the spring to the glider. This
caused the spring to unwind as it was stretched by the glider. This unwinding
adds torsion and causes the glider to wobble along the track as it is pulled by
the spring. If the stretched spring was sagging in the experiment, it could
have increased the force of friction acting on the system which would have
decreased the total mechanical energy available for the glider to move. Had
the distance between each tooth in the measuring comb been actually 0.008
meter, instead of the 0.004 meter used in the calculation, due to a
manufacturing error, the calculated values for potential and kinetic energy
would have been quadrupled. This is due to the fact that the position in

potential energy and the velocity in kinetic energy are squared, magnifying
the effects of the error. The experiment assumes that the two springs that
connect to the glider are ideal springs, having no mass or damping forces.
However, factoring the mass of the each spring in calculations increases the
mass of the system to 245.8 grams, assuming that the mass of each spring
used in the experiment was 10 grams. By recalculating the kinetic energy,
factoring in the new mass of the system, the total energy of the system looks
to be more constant.

Conservation of Energy in mass/spring system

0.03
0.03

f(x) = - 0x + 0.03

0.02

Energy [J]

0.02
0.01
0.01
0
0

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.05

0.06

0.07

0.08

Distance [m]

Figure 3: Shows the plot for the results of the second part of the experiment where
the equilibrium tooth was 15 and the mass of the system was 245.8 grams. The
blue diamonds represent the potential energy of the system, stored in the spring.
The red squares represent the kinetic energy of the system. The green triangles
represent the total mechanical energy of the system. Note that the trend line for the
total energy remains nearly constant throughout the experiment.

Conclusion
The experiment was designed to study a system where the total mechanical energy
remained constant. The system involved was a glider moving along a nearly
frictionless airtrack connected by two springs. As the glider moved along, the
system continually transfers its total mechanical energy between potential to
kinetic energy. The result of the experiment show that the total mechanical energy
of the system increased as the glider moved. This can be attributed to an applied

force that added energy to the system or an error that was encountered during the
experiment. Possible sources of errors are measuring the glider incorrectly, not
attaching a thread through each of the springs, making a mistake in positioning the
photogate and not securing the measuring comb on the glider. By adding in the
mass of each of the springs to the total mass of the system and recalculating the
results, the total energy of the experiment appears more constant than the previous
results.
Average KE
0.006543.85E-05

Average PE
0.017402.64E-05

Average Total Energy

0.023946.49E-05