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What factors cause a car to drive a loop - Coggle Diagram
What factors cause a car to drive a loop
Mass
A higher mass will produce a greater acceleration or velocity if force is constant and if acceleration is constant, force will change according to newtons second law
The easiest variable to measure would be acceleration of the car using photogates at two different points along the track
The best way to change the mass of the car would be to add weight onto the car, rather than changing it with a car that has a larger mass, as the cross sectional area may be different which may cause random errors in the data that is being measured
Velocity
Shape of the car (aerodynamics)
The shape may affect the air resistance applied to the car
Less air resistance leads to higher velocity
The shape will affect the force of air resistance as air resistance is dependent on the surface area of the object and changing the shape of the car will give the car different surface areas
It could be hard to measure the cross sectional area of the car so it would not be a good independent variable
If it is possible to measure the cross sectional area, then it is easy to switch out the cars for differently shaped cars if smaller scaled cars such as toy cars and hot wheels are used in the experiment
A car with a different cross-sectional area will also have a different mass, so it may be hard to find cars with the same mass and different cross-sectional areas
Distance
If the distance is smaller, the angle is tighter, which allows the car to keep a higher velocity and stick around the loop as velocity can be dependent on distance, assuming the time is controlled.
Friction
Friction between the surface or road that the car is driving on and the tyres of the car could slow down the acceleration or velocity of the car
Friction is a force that opposes the force of the car which would result in a lower net force of the car. As mass would be constant, the acceleration would be changed because of the loss of force
Friction is not a good independent variable as it cannot be changed as it is always the resultant of another factor. If the magnitude of direction could be the independent variable, than a suitable dependent variable would be acceleration, as it would dependent on the mass of the car
Assuming the mass of the car is the controlled variable, it is simple to control as the mass can only be changed by adding weight which would not happen without purpose.
Downforce
The force can be changed by changing the mass or acceleration of the car. In a real life situation where the car has an engine, the acceleration can be changed. In a classroom setting, most likely a hot wheels car would be used which is hard to control the speed on, so changing the mass is more plausible.
A decrease in force would make the car fall off the loop as it rotates upside down or once it rotates over 90 degrees. The car would fall as there is nothing to oppose the gravitational force that is being applied to it.
Force would not be a good independent variable as it can only be changed by changing another variable such as mass or acceleration of the car in a classroom seting.