Question

1. find the mass of just the cart. the mass of the cart system found above is the mass of all the masses involved: $m_{system} = m_1 + m_2 + m_{cart}$. what is the mass of $m_1 + m_2$? (hint: look at questions #1 and 2)

$m_1 + m_2 = \underline{\quad\quad\quad\quad}$ kg
the unknown mass is $m_{cart}$. subtract the total of $m_1 + m_2$ from the mass of the cart system you found in #4 to find the mass of the cart:

mass of the cart = $\underline{\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad}$

1. use the big electronic balance to find the actual mass of your cart: $\underline{\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad}$

1. change the mass above to kilograms, if it is not in kg already:

1. determine the percent error between the experimental mass for the cart (from #5) and the actual mass of the cart from the electronic balance.

\\\text{percent error } = \frac{(\text{experimental mass} - \text{actual mass})}{\text{actual mass}} \times 100\\
show your work below and circle your answer.

1. what is one possible force not taken into account that could impact the results? what effect would this have on the net force acting on the cart system?

Explanation:

Step1: Recall Previous Masses

Assume from questions #1 and #2, \( m_1 = a \) kg and \( m_2 = b \) kg (values from prior steps). Then \( m_1 + m_2 = a + b \) kg.

Step2: Get System Mass

From question #4, let the cart system mass be \( m_{\text{system}} = c \) kg.

Step3: Calculate Cart Mass

Use \( m_{\text{cart}} = m_{\text{system}} - (m_1 + m_2) \), so \( m_{\text{cart}} = c - (a + b) \) kg.

Step4: Measure Actual Mass

Use the electronic balance to find the actual mass of the cart, say \( m_{\text{actual}} = d \) kg.

Step5: Convert Units (if needed)

If the actual mass is in grams, convert to kilograms: \( m_{\text{actual (kg)}} = \frac{d}{1000} \) kg (if \( d \) is in grams).

Step6: Calculate Percent Error

Use the formula \( \text{percent error} = \frac{|\text{experimental mass} - \text{actual mass}|}{\text{actual mass}} \times 100 \). Substitute \( \text{experimental mass} = c - (a + b) \) and \( \text{actual mass} = d \) (or converted \( d \)): \( \text{percent error} = \frac{|(c - a - b) - d|}{d} \times 100 \).

Step7: Identify Unaccounted Force

A possible force is friction. Friction opposes motion, so it reduces the net force acting on the cart system (since net force is the sum of all forces, and friction acts opposite to the applied force from the masses).

Answer:

(For question 8, actual mass depends on measurement; for percent error, it depends on experimental and actual masses. Example with hypothetical values: If \( m_1 + m_2 = 0.5 \) kg, \( m_{\text{system}} = 1.0 \) kg, \( m_{\text{actual}} = 0.5 \) kg:

• \( m_{\text{cart (experimental)}} = 1.0 - 0.5 = 0.5 \) kg
• Percent error: \( \frac{|0.5 - 0.5|}{0.5} \times 100 = 0\% \)
• Unaccounted force: Friction, which decreases net force.)

(Note: Actual answers require specific values from prior questions and measurements.)