In the experimental setup shown, a car has one end of a string attached to it, and the other end is attached to a fixed number of metal discs. The car moves along the table and two probes sense the motion of the car. The probes send information to a computer that displays the acceleration and velocity of the experiment. When looking at these results, which quantity stays constant during the trials?

Question

A car at the one end of the table is tied to a hanger at the other end of the table using a string and a pully. The hanger is hanging over the side of the table while the car is placed flat on the surface of the table. The hanger can support the metal discs. A ruler, a laptop, and other equipment are also placed on the table.


(1 point)
Responses

mass
mass

force
force

acceleration
acceleration

velocity
velocity

Answer 1

In the described experimental setup, the quantity that stays constant during the trials is mass.

The mass of the car and the mass of the suspended discs (hanger) do not change during the experiment, assuming no additional masses are added or removed. Other quantities such as force, acceleration, and velocity may vary throughout the trials depending on the motion of the car and the effects of gravity acting on the mass of the discs.