Investigating the Effect of Mass and Speed of a Moving Object on Its Stopping Time

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Investigating the Effect of Mass and Speed of a Moving Object on Its Stopping Time

The investigation is about the mass and speed of a moving object and

how this affects its stopping distance due to the changes in energy

needed to brake.

Since I cannot measure the speed and energy accurately I shall change

the definition of my investigation.

The problem/task I will be investigating is how the mass of a moving

object – a trolley, affects its stopping distance.

[IMAGE]

[IMAGE] Stopping Distance m

In order for a moving vehicle to stop a Braking Force is needed. The

friction between the wheel and the ground usually does this. But in

this experiment the trolley has no brakes therefore a weight is

attached to the trolley to stop it when the string attached to the

weight tightens and provides an opposing force to the movement of the

trolley.

Force is the factor that pushes or pulls an object. Forces can change

the speed and direction of an object as well as changing its shape.

The size of a force is measured in Newtons (N).

Work is done when an applied force moves or acts upon an object,

against and opposing a force. Work is equal to the energy transferred

and is measured in Joules – J. The equation for Work is Force x

Distance.

KE is the type of energy all moving objects transfer is measured in J.

The faster the object is moving the more force is needed to stop it.

This can be explained by saying that the faster the object is moving

the more kinetic energy it has and therefore it will need more work to

stop it. According to the conservation law all energy cannot be

created or destroyed. Also to stop a movement the same amount energy

used to move it must be used to stop it. If it has a greater mass then

a greater amount of force is needed to push the object therefore it

needs a greater amount of work to stop it.

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