Seedling Cart Tracks After a Spring Shower

A Cart for the Early-Spring Greenhouse

In early spring, the Green Hollow Farm team moves seedling trays into a greenhouse. They tested a small cart on a marked rail to see how its motion could help them plan the trip. The cart started at the 0-centimeter mark. The team gave it the same starting push in each test and measured its position once each second.

For Test A, the rail was dry and smooth. The cart's positions were 0 centimeters at 0 seconds, 18 centimeters at 1 second, 34 centimeters at 2 seconds, 48 centimeters at 3 seconds, and 60 centimeters at 4 seconds. The cart moved 18 centimeters during the first second, then 16, 14, and 12 centimeters during the next three one-second intervals.

An early-spring shower made the smooth rail damp, so the team made Test B on a dry strip covered with rough burlap. They kept the cart, starting push, rail length, and measuring times the same. The cart's positions were 0 centimeters at 0 seconds, 14 centimeters at 1 second, 26 centimeters at 2 seconds, 36 centimeters at 3 seconds, and 44 centimeters at 4 seconds.

In Test B, the cart moved 14, 12, 10, and 8 centimeters during the four one-second intervals. The team wanted to find out whether the new surface changed the pattern before using the cart to carry trays.