A cart with an unknown mass is at rest on one side of a track. A student must find the mass of the cart by using Newton’s second law. The student attaches a force probe to the cart and pulls it while keeping the force constant. A motion detector rests on the opposite end of the track to record the acceleration of the cart as it is pulled. The student uses the measured force and acceleration values and determines that the cart’s mass is 0.4kg . When placed on a balance, the cart’s mass is found to be 0.5kg . Which of the following could explain the difference in mass?

Answer choices:

A) The track was not level and was tilted slightly downward.

B) The student did not pull the cart with a force parallel to the track.

C) The wheels contain bearings that were rough and caused a significant amount of friction.

D) The motion sensor setting was incorrect. The student set it up so that motion away from the sensor would be the negative direction.

Explanation: This is because of the two values: 0.4 kg and 0.5 kg. I won't go into much detail but due to this difference of mass, we know that the track was not level.

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Cricetus Cricetus · Answer 2 · 2021-09-25T16:26:19+02:00

"The track was not level and was tilted slightly downward" could explain the difference in the mass.

Mostly because the university student or learners calculates a mass of just over the spring quantity, the vehicle speed seems to have been higher than there would have had to be.
Option B, as well as Option C, are wrong because the acceleration would've been smaller in each of these 2 circumstances, so that computed mass would've been larger.

Thus Option A is appropriate.

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