Accelerating Carts on an Air Track

A mass on a pulley accelerates the various carts along the air track This demonstration involves using Pasco carts on a track, pulled by a falling mass over a pulley, to illustrate Newton's second law of motion. As the mass falls, it provides a constant force that accelerates the cart. By timing the motion of the cart and measuring the distance traveled, students can observe the direct relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. This setup helps to clearly demonstrate the principle that acceleration is directly proportional to the net force acting on an object and inversely proportional to its mass, reinforcing Newton's 2nd Law.