Physlet Illustration: The Hockey Puck

 

 

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F = Newtons  q = ° 
 
A 250-gm hockey puck, acted upon by a single force, is free to slide on the ice. The velocity components are given in m/s, and the times shown are in seconds. Adjust the angle and/or the magnitude of the applied force (0 < F < 12 N), and measure the puck's acceleration. How can you verify that it obeys Newton's Second Law? 

Hints

  1. Measure the components of the acceleration by finding the change in the components of velocity over a specific time interval.
  2. How do the components of the acceleration depend on the force?

Reference

See Walker, Section 5-3

Illustration written by Steve Mellema and Chuck Niederriter