Posts tagged decrease

Question : Why does the energy being lost from friction on a rolling cart decrease when I add more weight to the cart?
The cart is on a track and we calculated the energy lost and it comes out that there is less energy lost when we add more weight. why is this? what is this theory called?
energy lost = entropy
we’re trying to find the relationship between the entropy and mass.
we’re not using f*d we’re using E=Pe-Ke
rolling cart

Best answer:

Answer by Randy P
This theory is called “experimental result”.

If you could come up with a physical model to explain it, that wouldn’t necessarily mean there’s some theory in a textbook with a name. Just general principles of mechanics that you’d be applying.

This one is a little against expectations. Work done by friction = F*d, the frictional force times the distance moved. The heavier cart should experience more friction, so if the distances are the same then the energy loss should be more.

This theory also might be called “experimental error”. You’ll have to decide if you really have enough data to confirm the effect. Was it a general trend? Was it repeatable? Did you hold everything else constant, so that weight was the only variable?