Name:________________________
Date: __________________
Mousetrap Spring Potential Energy
Purpose: Calculating the potential energy of a mousetrap spring.
Materials:
Labquest
LoggerPro3 Software
Mouse Trap
Paper Clip
Vocabulary:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Energy: The ability to do work
Force: A push or pull that can cause an object with mass to change its velocity
Joule: The derived unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI)
Newton (unit): The unit of force derived in the International System of Units
Watts (unit): Unit of power in the International System of Units (SI), named after
the Scottish engineer James Watt (1736–1819).
f. Work: Exerting a force over a distance
In most cases, there is no easy formula to calculate the potential energy of a mousetrap.
As a great deal of energy is lost to sound, it may not even be conservative. Assuming you are
using a traditional mousetrap, the method below will give you a good approximation.
Using the Vernier LabQuest with the dual-range force sensor (DFS-BTA) along with the software
LoggerPro3:
a. Connect the dual-range force sensor (DFS-BTA) to your Vernier LabQuest
b. Connect the computer to the Vernier LabQuest using the USB cable provided and
turn it on
c. Once the Vernier LabQuest is turned on, start the LoggerPro3
d. Open the experiment named “50N Dual Range” found in
Experiments/Probes & Sensors/Force Sensors/Dual-Range Force Sensor/
e. Connect the sensor to the swinging arm of the mousetrap using a paper clip
f. Now “zero” the sensor by clicking the [ØZero] button at the top of the screen
g. Click on the [Collect] button
h. Remember that you will have 10 seconds to smoothly pull on the dual-range force
sensor throughout the semi-circle path of the mouse trap arm while the computer
logs the force data
i. Keeping the scale or sensor parallel to the path, smoothly pull the force sensor along
the path. For safety, be sure to clamp the base in place.
j.
At this point you should have a graph of Time (sec) versus Force (Newtons) on the
screen
k. Now click on the button for the “Integral” located to the left of the “Collect” button
on the computer screen
l. The result shown in the box represents the equivalent force that the mousetrap arm
would generate
With this information and after watching the “Mousetraps Chain Reaction
Demonstration” video, have the students answer the questions below:
1. What is the FORCE generated by one mousetrap during the measurement?
______________________sec x Newton
2. To transform FORCE into WORK equivalent you must multiply the answer from question
1 by the length (in meters) traveled by the mousetrap arm. Just measure the distance
between the center of the mousetrap and the end of the mousetrap arm and using the
formula:
Distance Traveled = __________________________ meters
WORK = FORCE * Distance Traveled
WORK = ___________________________________ Joules
3. The total amount of ENERGY produced by the mouse trap is then the WORK times
DISTANCE TRAVELED:
ENERGY = ______________________Watts
4. The “Mouse Traps Chain Reaction Demonstration” video shows a box with 110
mousetraps. What is then the total amount of energy produced by the Mouse Traps
Chain Reaction set-up?
______________________Watts (just multiply your answer from question 2 by 110)
5. How many mousetraps would be required to be trigger simultaneously so that the total
amount of power produced would be equal to 20 Megawatts? (20 Megawatts is
20,000,000 Watts)
_______________________ mousetraps = 20 Megawatts