PASCO SE-8747 Kinesthetics Cart KINESTHESIA-1 - Manual (Page 7)

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012-05787C Kinesthetics Cart
General Operation and Safety Precautions
The SE-8747 Kinesthetics Cart system consists of two
low friction carts that move along a straight line. Both
carts are supported by roller blade wheels. The two carts
are designed to ride “piggy-back-style” on top of each
other. Throughout this manual we will refer to the two
carts as the “lower cart” (this is the narrower cart) and the
“upper cart” (this is the wider cart). The two carts can be
interlocked or ridden separately. To interlock the two
carts, the upper cart is placed on top of the lower cart
so that the coupler holes of each cart line up. Then the
coupler is inserted through the two bores in the upper
cart into the two bores of the lower cart.
As long as the upper cart rides on top of the lower cart the
roller blade wheels of the upper cart are approximately
1/8” to 1/4” off the floor. The wheels of the upper cart
serve in this application as “landing gear” (e.g. Experi-
ments 1 and 2).
For any experiment that requires removal of the coupler
during the experiment, it is advisable to have the student
rider try out its function prior to the experiment. Have the
student remove the coupler and insert it back through the
bores of the upper cart into the coupler holes of the lower
cart. The coupler is removed most easily by pulling it up
as vertically as possible.
Most experiments and demonstrations involving Kines-
thesia-1 can be done in both qualitative and quantitative
fashions. The motion (distance, velocity and acceleration)
of the Kinesthetics Cart can be inferred with standard Mi-
crocomputer Based Lab (MBL) apparatus. The position
can be recorded with either a motion detector or with
PASCO’s Smart Pulley. In the latter case, a sufficiently
long string is wrapped around the pulley which is station-
ary near a computer. The free end of the string is attached
to the back of the moving Kinesthetics Cart. Also, a stan-
dard accelerometer can be readily mounted on the cart.
All experiments and demonstrations with the Kinesthetics
Cart involve little or virtually no setup time.
➤ IMPORTANT!
STORE THE KINETHETICS CART IN A VER-
TICAL POSITION WITH THE WHEELS UP.
IF THE UNIT IS STORED SITTING ON ITS
WHEELS, THEY MAY DEVELOP A FLAT
SPOT.
➤ CAUTION!
WHENEVER YOU PERFORM AN EXPERI-
MENT DESCRIBED IN THIS MANUAL OR TRY
OUT NEW EXPERIMENTS INVOLVING THE
KINESTHETICS CART, BE SURE TO ELIMI-
NATE ANY RISK OF POSSIBLE INJURY!
• While the cart is in motion at least one
hand of the student rider must main-
tain a firm grip on the handle or hold
on to the cart itself. (Except for Experi-
ment 10)
• It is highly recommended that the stu-
dent rider wear a bicycle helmet while
riding the cart.
• AT NO TIME MAY A STUDENT RIDER
STAND ON THE UPPER OR LOWER
CART! (Except for Experiment 10)
When performing Experiment 10 it is im-
perative that all necessary precautions be
observed to keep a student from injury:
• line both sides of the cart’s path with
foam mats
• place spotters along the cart’s path
to support the student’s ascent and
descent.
FOR COLLISION EXPERIMENTS: Student
must have feet against collision attachment
for additional support of the body. Student
body might move forward toward front of
cart. For this experiment it is particularly im-
portant to hold on to the cart with both
hands. Keep body in as rigid a position as
possible.
• Only one rider should be on the cart when
riding “piggy-back-style”.