Newton's Second Law (Free)

This is a teacher or student controlled, realistic 3d simulation of an airtrack that can be used to confirm Newton's Second Law.

This experiment uses an AirTrack to confirm Newton’s second law that force = mass times the acceleration. A pully arrangement is used to allow an adjustable weight to pull the glider along the AirTrack so that it accelerates. By measuring the time the glider takes to pass through two successive photogate timers its acceleration can be calculated. Changing the weight pulling the glider allows for a range of forces and accelerations to be observed. These values can be plotted to confirm the law.

The user has control over the air pump, the positions of the photogates and their settings, the weight pulling the glider. The user is free to move anywhere within the laboratory in order to interact with the apparatus.