Mass vs. Force

• This week in Physics class, we learned about the relationship between force and mass. Not only did the class learn about it, but we actually also wrote Newton's Second law by using our own knowledge of our data and the general equation of a line, y=mx+b. Yes, WE wrote it.

• Using manual and electronic force probes, we measured the amount of force (N) needed to hold up a brass mass of varied masses (kg). After recording our results, we drew a graph using the data and drew a best fit line through the points. 

• Once the graph was drawn, the relationship between mass and force became MUCH clearer. The best fit line obviously showed us that the more mass an object had, the more force the probe exerted.  

•  I was reminded of the difference between mass and weight. The brass masses that we used in our experiment all had different masses meaning the heavier ones had more mass- aka they were "made up of more stuff." BUT the difference between that and the weight of an object is that the weight is the amount of gravity that is needed to basically keep something from floating away. If that still doesnt make sense, take a look at this more thorough video on the difference between mass and weight: 

                          

• Knowing the general equation of a line (y=mx+b), we plugged in specific numbers according to our graph. After simplifying, we derived the equation f=mg. 

•  In f=mg, "f" stands for the force of gravity. from our experiment, we learned that the force of gravity on Earth (f, Newtons) is about 10 times the mass of an object (m, kg). 

•  The "g" in the equation stands for the gravitational constant aka the slope of any force vs. mass graph. 

•  A connection from this experiment could be made to the sport of field hockey. Just while running on the field, a player's body is exerting a force against the force of gravity so they can move at fast speeds. i have found that the most force is exerted on the ball when a player push passes or hits the ball. 

• As you can see in the video below, the player uses the force of his backswing which he gets from his arms and torso to hit the ball. the amount of force can be seen by the distance and power that the ball travels.