Plan the investigation
What students will do
Use the student handout to organize predictions, measurements, and explanations.
- Draw the forces. Represent the two horizontal forces on the cart and determine their signed net force.
- Predict the motion. Use mass and net force to calculate acceleration and velocity after the stated time.
- Run and compare. Measure acceleration and velocity in the simulation and compare them with your predictions.
- Choose another pair. Keep net force and mass unchanged while selecting different opposing forces. Predict and test the resulting velocity.
What students will learn
- Combine opposing forces with a consistent sign convention.
- Connect net force, mass, acceleration, and velocity.
- Explain why different force pairs can produce matching motion.
Common misconception
Does the larger force alone determine acceleration?
Acceleration depends on the vector sum of all forces on the cart.