The Fan Cart Physics Gizmo shows a common teaching tool called a fan cart. Place fan A on the cart and turn it on by clicking the On/Off button below.

Question

1. Look at the blue lines coming from the fan. In which direction is the air pushed?

(1 point)

2. Press Play (Play) and observe the cart. In which direction does the cart move? (1 point)

By blowing to the left, the fans exert a force on the cart that pushes it to the right. This illustrates Newton’s third law: A force in one direction results in an equal force in the opposite direction.

3. The velocity (v) of the cart is its speed and direction. Click Reset (Reset). Select the BAR CHART tab, and click Play. Does the velocity change or stay the same? (1 point)

Answer 1

1. The air is pushed to the left by the fan.

2. The cart moves to the right.

3. When you click Reset and then select the BAR CHART tab while pressing Play, you will observe that the velocity of the cart changes. The velocity will change as the cart accelerates in the direction opposite to the air being pushed by the fan.