Incline Energy Lab

 

Analysis

Calculate the efficiency of the bumper for the level track. Does your result depend on the velocity of the cart before it hits the bumper?

The average efficiency of the leveled track was 69.74 +/- 1.85%. The result does depend on the velocity of the cart before it hits the bumper because the bumper would hinder the results, ultimately leading to incorrect details. 

What is the efficiency of the magnetic bumpers? How much energy is dissipated in an impact? State your results in the most general terms supported by your analysis. Is the effect of friction significant? Compare your value of the efficiency (with uncertainty) with the value obtained by your partners procedure. Are the values consistent? Which way to measure the efficiency of the magnetic bumper do you think is better? Why?

The efficiency of the magnetic bumpers was 69.74 +/- 1.85%. We calculated roughly 17% energy dissipated on impact, meaning the cart loses some of what it had originally through the impact. Friction did play a bigger role than what we had thought, changing the values we would have got originally. We compared with one group and our values seemed a little low. They were not far off but were different enough for there to be a clear distance. It is possible that our calculations were wrong or our data being drawn was incorrectly taken. I do think the level track would be more efficient to measure efficiency because it is more consistent, as the height doesn't change and the level can be easier to plot points on vernier.