Physics Demo Manual

Demonstrations are cataloged according to PIRA Bibliography

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video - Inclined Plane

Purpose:

To illustrate the mechanical advantage gained by use of an inclined plane.

Procedure:

DEMO VIDEO DOWNLOAD / no audio / 1920x1080 / 24.19Mb/s / 342MB size

DEMO VIDEO DOWNLOAD / no audio / 854x480 / 5.69Mb/s / 79MB size

A wheeled cart is placed on an inclined plane with adjustable angle and attached angle meter. A string is attached to the cart and fed over a pulley to a spring scale. The cart is pulled up the ramp with constant velocity to a prescribed height. During this time, the constant force required to lift the cart is read off the scale. A horizontal bar is placed behind the ramp to identify the height through which the cart is pulled. Measure the distance through which the cart was pulled. Next, adjust the angle of the ramp and pull the cart up to the same height as before and record the force required and the distance pulled. The calculated work done in each case should be the same even though the forces and distances are different.

Height for both cases below: h = 21.2cm

CASE#1: Angle = 20^o L₂₀ = 62.0cm F = 5.5N W = 3.4Nm
CASE#2: Angle = 30^o L₃₀ = 42.4cm N = 8.0N W = 3.4Nm