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A student investigated how the height of a ramp affects the acceleration of a trolley down the ramp - AQA - GCSE Physics Combined Science - Question 2 - 2020 - Paper 2

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A student investigated how the height of a ramp affects the acceleration of a trolley down the ramp. Figure 3 shows some of the equipment used. Table 1 shows the r... show full transcript

Worked Solution & Example Answer:A student investigated how the height of a ramp affects the acceleration of a trolley down the ramp - AQA - GCSE Physics Combined Science - Question 2 - 2020 - Paper 2

Step 1

Plan an investigation to determine how the height of the ramp affects the acceleration of the trolley.

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Answer

  1. Setup the Equipment: Place one wooden block under the ramp at the lowest height, adjust the ramp's height by adding wooden blocks.

  2. Measurements:

    • Measure the height of the ramp using a ruler.
    • Measure the distance the trolley travels on the ramp using a metric ruler.
    • Use a stopwatch to record the time it takes for the trolley to roll down the ramp.
    • Repeat for each height.
  3. Conduct the Experiment:

    • Release the trolley without applying any additional force from the same height on the ramp.
    • Record the time taken for each trial.
  4. Calculate Acceleration:

    • Use the formula for acceleration:

    a=(vu)t=v2u22sa = \frac{(v - u)}{t} = \frac{v^2 - u^2}{2s} where v is the final speed, u is the initial speed (0 if starting from rest), t is time, and s is the distance traveled.

  5. Analyze Results:

    • Repeat the experiment for different heights and calculate the mean acceleration for each height.

Step 2

Complete Figure 4.

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Answer

Label the x-axis as 'Height of ramp (m)' and the y-axis as 'Acceleration (m/s²)'. Plot the remaining points from Table 1 onto the graph. Ensure the points correspond to each height with their respective acceleration values. Finally, draw a line of best fit through the plotted points to illustrate the trend.

Step 3

Write down the equation that links acceleration (a), mass (m) and resultant force (F).

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Answer

The equation that links acceleration (a), mass (m), and resultant force (F) is:

F=maF = m \cdot a

Step 4

Calculate the mass of the trolley.

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Answer

Using the formula F=maF = m \cdot a, we can rearrange it to find the mass:

m=Fam = \frac{F}{a}

Substituting the given values:

m=0.63N2.1m/s2=0.30kgm = \frac{0.63 \, \text{N}}{2.1 \, \text{m/s}²} = 0.30 \, \text{kg}

Thus, the mass of the trolley is 0.30 kg.

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