Name
Period
Date
Net Force (Unbalanced Forces) Worksheet 1
The experiment you just completed looks something like the modified Atwood’s
machine pictured below.
A
B
B
A
1. On the system figure to the right of the modified Atwood’s machine sketch a force
diagram for the system as a whole. Assume no friction and be sure to subscript
appropriately.
2. How did we compensate for the frictional force and the angle of the track so that we
could neglect them?
3. Suppose that the mass added to the hanger is 120 g. What towing force does it
provide?
4. If the mass of the system were tripled by adding masses only to the block on the
table, what effect would that have on the acceleration? (Give a factor of change;
e.g. 2x as great or 1 as great) How do you know?
2
5. If an additional 60. g were transferred from the hanger to the block on the table, what
effect would that have on the acceleration? (Give a factor of change) How do you
know?