Purpose:
The purpose of this lab is to use Excel to be able to calculate the problem:
A 5000kg elephant on frictionless roller skates is going 25m/s when it gets to the bottom of a hill and arrives on level ground. At that point a 1500kg rocket mounted on the elephant's back generates a constant 8000N thrust opposite the elephant's direction of motion. The mass of the rocket changes with time (due to burning the fuel at a rate of 20kg/s) so that the m(t)=1500kg-20kg/s*t. Find how far the elephant goes before coming to rest.
Theory:
This activity could be done analytically, but it is very complicated and takes a long time.
Apparatus/Procedure:
The apparatus of this lab is Microsoft Excel, as all the numerical calculations were done by Excel. Set numbers were listed as constants for initial mass, initial velocity, burning rate, force, and change in time, and there were columns for time, acceleration, average acceleration, change in velocity, velocity, average velocity, change in position, and position.
Data:
For delta t=1
Delta t=0.1
Delta t=0.05
Graphs:
N/A
Analysis:
With a smaller delta t interval, the results are able to be more and more precise. The answer remains the same, but it just gets more and more precise.
Conclusion:
The answer for this, whether analytically or numerically, shows the same answer, meaning that at least the Excel portion of the lab was done correctly. I was able to see that with a smaller t, the answer is more precise, but it does not change the answer in any way.
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