Topic Menu

Cyber-chess a chess instruction site

GCSE Questions: Forces

Q23. Buffy investigated the acceleration of a trolley. The diagram shows how she set up the apparatus.

(a) Before attaching the mass holder Buffy placed the trolley at the top of the runway.

The trolley rolled down the runway without being pushed.

Which of the following changes to the apparatus could be made to prevent the trolley from starting to roll down the runway? Tick one box.

Move the wooden block to the left.  
Shorten the length of the runway.  
Use a taller wooden block  

[1 mark]

(b) Buffy attached the mass holder to the string. The string rubbed along the edge of the bench as the mass holder fell to the floor. Suggest what she could do to prevent the string from rubbing.

[1 mark]

(c) The light gate and data logger were used to determine the acceleration of the trolley.

Buffy increased the resultant force on the trolley and recorded the acceleration of the trolley in the table below.

Resultant force/N
Acceleration/ ms-2
0.05
0.08
0.10
0.18
0.15
0.25
0.20
0.32
0.25
0.41

 

Here is an incomplete graph of the results:

Complete the graph for Buffy.

Choose a suitable scale for the x-axis.

Plot the results.

Draw a line of best fit.

[4 marks]

(d) Describe the relationship between the resultant force on the trolley and the acceleration of the trolley.

[1 mark]

(e) Describe how the investigation could be improved to reduce the effect of random errors.

[2 marks]

(f) Write down the equation that links acceleration (a), mass (m) and resultant force (F).

[1 mark]

(g) The resultant force on the trolley was 0.375 N.

The mass of the trolley was 0.60 kg.

Calculate the acceleration of the trolley.

Give your answer to 2 significant figures.

[4 marks]

[14 Marks TOTAL]