Title

Work and Energy on an Incline Plane

In this lab the relationship between work and energy was analyzed using a Halls
Carriage moving up and down an inclined plane. I was believed that the work lost to friction
would be constant for the cart moving up and down the incline plane. The cart was moved up
and down the incline plane at a constant velocity over a set distance at two different set angles.
This was accomplished by using a counterweight. Using the values measured in the lab the
value of the force of friction was calculated using the work method and energy method. The
analysis of these results showed that the experimental values of the work done by the force of
friction were not constant for the cart moving up and down the incline plane. This could have
been due to numerous sources of error. This lab taught the relationship between work and
energy.
Introduction
Work and Energy are interrelated concepts. Both are measured in the SI Unit of Jules.
When work is done on a system the energy of that system increases, and when energy is lost
from a system it does work on the surroundings. Sometimes energy is lost due to the work that
friction does on a system. When carts move up and down an incline plane this loose of energy
occurs. To compensate for this loss of energy a counterweight will be used to keep the velocity.
This will allow for the work done on the system to be calculated using the frictional force, and
the change in potential energy. The comparison will show the relationship between work and
energy.

This lab will teach the concepts of work and energy. It will teach how to calculate work
using the frictional force, and the change in potential energy. Also, it will teach how to use an
incline plane with a pulley, weights, and a Halls Carriage in lab. It is believed that the work
done by the frictional force, when the car is moving up and down the track, will be relatively
constant for each incline tested in the lab. The work done by the frictional force should be even
closer between the calculation using the force of friction, and the change in potential energy.
Methods
An incline plane with a pulley attached to its top was set to an angle of 30 degrees. A
string was then attached to a Halls Carriage, which had been weighed on a triple beam balance,
and to an adjustable mass on the other side. The mass was adjusted until it allowed the carriage
to move up a set distance on the incline plane with a constant velocity. The starting and stopping
points had been marked with masking tape. This mass of the weight was recorded. The mass
was than adjusted until the carriage moved down the set distance on the incline plane with a
constant velocity. The mass of the weight was recorded. The angle of the incline plane was then
adjusted to 45 degrees. The same procedure as above was used, and the values for the mass of
the weight for each direction were recorded.
Results
In this lab is was found that the differences in the work done by the force of friction on
the carriage varied greatly between the carriage moving up and down the incline plane. The
following is the set of data taken when the incline plane was set to an angle of 30 degrees and the
mass of the carriage was 187.12 grams.

Suspended
Mass (g)
Car
moving
up
Car
moving
down

Distance
(cm)

Force of
Friction
(N)

Mass 1

100 38.81 cm
g

Mass 2

70
g

38.81 cm

.06311 N

Work done by
the Force of
Friction (Work
Method) (J)
.02449 J

Work done by the

frictional Force of
Friction (Energy
Method) (J)
.03429 J

.2309 N

.08961 J

.08275 J

The force of friction for these calculations was found by the formula:
f=m1g-mcgsin
This formula was used when the carriage was moving up the incline. When the carriage was
moving down the incline the following formula was used.
f=mcgsin -m2g
From this the work done by friction was found using the formula:
Wf=fd
This was how the work done by the force of friction was calculated using the Work Method. To
find the work done by the force of friction using the energy method the following formula was
used when moving up the incline plane. The height that the mass moved was .3981 meters. The
height that the cart traveled was .1940 meters.
Wf=m1gh-mcgh'
When the carriage was moving down the incline plane the following formula was used.
Wf=mcgh'-m2gh
The percent difference between the values of work for m1 was 33.34%. This was calculated
using the following formula.
Absolute DifferenceAverage 100%

Using this formula the percent difference between the values for work for the second mass was
found to be 7.96%. The percent difference between the averages of the values for both masses
was found to be 98.28% using this formula.
Additionally the work done by the mass on the carriage, and the force of gravity on the
carriage was found to be the following values. Also, the percentage of the work done by the
weight lost to friction was found.
Work done by Mass Work done by force of gravity Percent of work lost to friction
Mass 1
.3901 J
.3558 J
8.793%
Mass 2
.2731 J
.3558 J
30.28%
The values for work done by the mass were calculated using the following formula.
W=mgh
Using this formula the work done by mass one was calculated for mass 1 the following way.
(.100kg)(9.80ms2)(.3981m)=.3901 J
This method gave this method the value for mass 2 was calculated. The work that gravity did on
the carriage was calculated using the following formula.
W=mcgh'
Using this formula the work done by gravity on the cart was found the following way.
(.18712kg)(9.80ms2)(.1940m)= .3558 J
By dividing the difference in these values by the work done by the mass the percent of work lost
to friction was found. For mass 1 this was found in the following way.
.3901J-.3558J.3901JX 100=8.793%
The following set of data was taken when the incline plane was at 45 degrees.
Suspended
Mass (g)

Distance
(cm)

Force of
Friction
(N)

Work done by
the Force of
Friction (Work

Work done by the

frictional Force of
Friction (Energy

Car
moving
up
Car
moving
down

Mass 1

155 38.81 cm
g

.2193 N

Method) (J)
.08512 J

Method) (J)
.07368 J

Mass 2

100 38.81 cm
g

.3168 N

.1229 J

.1310 J

These values were found using the same methods as above. The percent difference between the
work method and the energy method for mass 1 was 14.41%; for mass 2 it was 6.380%. The
percent difference between the average work for mass 1 and mass 2 was 46.09%. These values
were calculated using the same method as above.
Additionally the work done by the mass on the carriage, and the force of gravity on the
carriage was found to be the following values. Also, the percentage of the work done by the
weight lost to friction was found. The methods for calculating these values were the same as
above.
Mass 1
Mass 2

Work done by Mass Work done by force of gravity Percent of work lost to friction
.5769 J
.5032 J
12.78%
.3722 J
.5032 J
35.20%
Discussion

It was found that the force of friction when the cart was moving up was different than the
force of friction when the cart was going down. This was because the percent differences in the
values were well over 40% for both angles of incline. However, the force of friction was found
to be relatively the same for both methods of calculation for each mass and incline. This proves
that both are reliable ways to calculate the force of friction, and that work and energy are directly
related. This is because the percent differences were relatively low. The fact that the force of
friction was not the same for both conditions could have been an error in the experiment. This is

because the frictional force is the multiple of the coefficient of friction and the normal force.
The normal force is the same no matter if the carriage is moving up or down the plane. Also,
the coefficient of friction is based on the two materials so it is the same no matter if the carriage
is moving up or down the plane. The combination of these two factors results in the force due to
friction being the same both directions.
There are multiple sources of error in this experiment. The first is that the carriage might
have been accelerating as it moved up or down the track. This would add an additional force due
to acceleration as the carriage moved up or down the incline plan. When the velocity is constant
this force is not a factor. An additional source of error could have been that the masses could
only be adjusted in increments of 5 grams. This could have contributed to the other source of
error by making it difficult to find a mass that allowed for a true constant velocity, resulting in
the error above.
Conclusion
This lab taught how to calculate work using the energy method, and the force method.
This taught the relationship between work and energy. It also taught that these give relatively
consistent values for work. Additionally, it taught how to work with Halls Carriages on inclined
planes. Through the movement of the carriages, and the calculations of the work due to the force
of friction, it taught how to understand the amount of energy lost due to the force of friction.