1. Naoki Maruyama
Physics 9 period 8
March 26, 2008
F=ma, Force and Acceleration
Introduction- This lab analyzes the formula F=ma which is the Newton second law. The formula stands
for Force = mass * acceleration. The definition of Force is physical power, effort, or violence used against
somebody or something that resists. Mass means the property of an object that is a measure of its inertia,
the amount of matter it contains. The dictionary definition for acceleration is a measure of the rate of
increase in the velocity of something per unit of time. Force is defined by the f = ma relationship. A force
of one Newton is the 'push' that will give an isolated mass of 1 kg and acceleration of 1 m/s/s. the formula
also help to find mass and acceleration a = f/m or m=f/a. Newton’s Second Law also states the greater the
force on an object, the greater its acceleration, and the greater the mass of the object, the less its
acceleration.
The independent variable of the lab is change in forces the dependent variable of the lab is
acceleration on different forces. The research question is what is the relationship between the net force
applied to a cart of mass m and the consequent acceleration?
Material and Procedure
See Grade 9 CD
Figure 1: Pulley and roller

2. Data Collection
Table 1) data table of the acceleration depended on force (Newton) and average acceleration on trials.
Force Acceleration trials (m/s/s) Average acceleration
40g (.0392N) 0.3513 .320475m/s/s
0.3114
0.3108
0.3084
50g (.0490N) 0.4812 .44005m/s/s
0.4521
0.4140
0.4129
60g (.0588N) 0.5333 .5341m/s/s
0.5576
0.5342
0.5113
70g (.0686N) 0.6212 .655825m/s/s
0.6911
0.6652
0.6458
80g (.0784N) 0.7088 .740675m/s/s
0.7679
0.7729
0.7131
Figure 2- Force and Acceleration
This graph is a sample graph which shows the acceleration taken from the force of 60g (0.588N)
Figure 3) Force vs. Average Acceleration

3. This graph shows that the increase in acceleration times the force (Newton) fairly equals the mass of the
object. There might be some uncertainties with in the graph.
Mass of car – 1.0643kg
Conclusion & Evaluation
The data clearly supported the idea of Newton’s second law of motion that the acceleration is always
directly proportional to the force. As indicated from the data the acceleration times the force made a slope
of 1.078 which points out the mass of the car now the formula might have some errors with them if
friction takes between objects. That is why the data wasn’t exact same number the real mass of 1.0643kg
however the data was pretty accurate if consider the uncertainties. The formula F=ma was supported by
the data collected. The lab went great, we had our data almost as same as what it is considered to be the
right answer