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Scale Balance

This experiment aims to determine the weight of a wooden scale using the principle of moments. Various masses are hung from the scale at different distances and the equilibrium positions are measured. The law of moments equation is used to calculate the mass of the scale based on the experimental data. The average mass of the scale calculated from the results is 116.06 grams with an uncertainty of ±1.22 grams. Some sources of error are parallax while measuring distances and potential shifting of the hanging mass. Taking more readings and improving experimental setup could increase precision.

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SJ
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166 views

Scale Balance

This experiment aims to determine the weight of a wooden scale using the principle of moments. Various masses are hung from the scale at different distances and the equilibrium positions are measured. The law of moments equation is used to calculate the mass of the scale based on the experimental data. The average mass of the scale calculated from the results is 116.06 grams with an uncertainty of ±1.22 grams. Some sources of error are parallax while measuring distances and potential shifting of the hanging mass. Taking more readings and improving experimental setup could increase precision.

Uploaded by

SJ
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Aim-to determine the weight of a given scale by moment of force method.

RQ- How does the placement of a mass on a scale in its equilibrium state
determine the weight of the scale?

Theory- The point at which the weight of a body works is called the center of
gravity. A meter rule has a consistent shape and a density which means that
the center of gravity is in the middle of the ruler or a few millimeters near it.
According to the principle of moments an object is in equilibrium if the sum of
anticlockwise moments is equal to sum of clockwise moments about the same
pivot.

Through this diagram we can see that F1 the weight of the mass gives the
anticlockwise moment and F2 the weight of the ruler gives the anticlockwise
moment. The weight of the ruler acts through the middle of the rule.

When the ruler is balanced we can use the equation-

=F1d1=F2d2

=m1gd1= m2gd2

From this we get the law of Moment =m1d1= m2d2

= m2 = m1 × (d1 / d2)
Independent Variable Dependant Variable Controlled Variable
The weight of the ruler The equilibrium position The amount of weight
attached
The place the weight was
hanged on the ruler.

Hypothesizes- by taking out the mean of the values of m2 will give us the
actual mass of the wooden scale.

Materials-

 Pyramid shaped wooden block


 Wooden Meter rule
 50gram weight
 Thread

Procedure-

1) First we place the scale on a pyramid shaped wooden block without


any weights attached in order to find the equilibrium position.
2) Put a thread around the weight to form a loop attached to the weight.
3) Hang the weight on the scale at the 2cm position.
4) Move the scale while maintaining the placement of the hanging
weights. Do this until the scale balances horizontally.
5) After balancing measure the values of m1, d1 and d2.
6) Replicate these steps four more times with different distances.
Raw Data-

Position T1 T2 T3
d1/cm±0.05 d2/cm±0.05 d1/cm±0.05 d2/cm±0.05 d1/cm±0.05 d2/cm±0.05

2cm 35.7 14.5 35.4 14.8 35.5 14.7


8cm 37.4 12.8 37.4 12.8 37.5 12.7
14cm 30.3 10.9 39.4 10.8 39.3 10.9
20cm 41.3 8.9 41.2 9.0 41.1 9.1
26cm 42.8 7.4 42.9 7.3 42.8 7.4

Center of Mass (m1) = 50.2cm

Data processing-
𝐻𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑡−𝐿𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑠𝑡
Uncertainty in mean d1 and d2 =
2
33.7−33.4
Sample calculation= = 0.15
2
𝑚1𝑑2
Calculation of Mass m1 =
𝑑1
50.2 ×33.53
Sample calculation= = 114.73
14.67
∆𝑚2 ∆𝑑1 ∆𝑑2
Calculation of uncertainty for m2= = +
𝑚2 𝑑1 𝑑2
∆𝑚2 0.15 0.15
Sample calculation= = 33.53 + 14.67
114.73

= ∆𝑚2 = 1.69
Position/cm±0.05 Mean d1 Mean d2 m2/g
2 33.53±0.15 14.67±0.15 114.73±1.69
8 29.43±0.05 12.77±0.05 115.69±0.65
14 25.33±0.05 10.87±0.05 116.98±0.77
20 21.20±0.10 9.00±0.10 118.25±1.87
26 16.83±0.05 7.37±0.05 114.64±1.12

Average of m2 = 116.06±1.22/g

Conclusion-

In this experiment we were able to discover the weight of the ruler using the
law of moment equation stated in our theory. In our data analysis we see that
the weight of the mass is 116.06±1.22/g.

Evaluation-

The main characteristics of the experiment are that by having controlled


variables we were able to find the proper cause and effect relationship.
However we didn’t record many readings which may have resulted in
unreliable results. Also there might have been chances of parallax error while
putting the scale on different distances. And the mass hanged on the scale
might have shifted while balancing the scale resulting in incorrect readings.

For improvements in the future we should take more number of readings


from which more precise results will be obtained. Also to avoid parallax error
we should look at the scale from the angle of 90 degree thus giving more
precise results. And the mass should be attached tightly to the scale in order
to prevent it from shifting while balancing the scale which would make
experiment more reliable.

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