Mass and Force: How do they relate?

 ~ Last week, we performed a lab that showed how the force needed to lift an object was affected by its mass. Using both the spring-gauge and the electronic force probe, we hung brass objects of different masses on the hooks of both tools. The benefit of using two measuring devices is that you can make sure that the measurement is accurate. The spring-gauge is a good tool to use, but the electronic force probe allows us to get more accurate measurements. With the data that was found, we noticed that more mass means more force needed. We recorded our data then we used a whiteboard to create a graph:

 ~ This graph not only shows the data; it gives us important information such as the equation relating mass to force. Using two points on the graph, we found the slope of the line: 10.1. With the equation of the line y=mx+b, we substituted f (force) for y, 10 (slope) for m, and m (mass) for x to come up with the equation f=10m. 10 Newtons/kilogram has been determined to be the gravitational constant (g) on Earth. The equation then becomes f=mg. 

With this lab, I learned that more force is needed on an object with more mass. I also learned how to find an equation using the graph by substituting for x and y and finding the slope of the line. Finding the slope, we came up with the gravitational constant on Earth which is 10 Newtons/kilogram. The gravitational constant on other planets and moons may not be the same however. Our weight on different planets may differ than our weight on Earth, but our mass will always stay the same regardless of where you are. I learned that mass does not change because it is the amount of matter in an object. That amount does not change based on location and is not affected by gravity. 

          ~Tennis Ball vs. Medicine Ball

 ~ As you can see, tennis balls are much easier to lift than the medicine ball. The tennis balls are light and most likely have less mass than the medicine ball. There is not much effort into picking up a tennis ball and you can pick many tennis balls at a time. The medicine ball, however, requires much more effort. The man in the second picture is having a tough time picking it up. He is putting a lot of force into picking up the medicine ball that has more mass than the tennis ball. The kids are using force to pick up the tennis balls but not as much as the man because the tennis balls have less mass. These two pictures demonstrate how the amount of force needed is affected by the amount of mass.