Physics Report: Lab 1

Title: Torques and rotational equilibrium of a rigid body

Objectives:
Forces acting on a body of finite size tend to both translate and rotate the body. If the body is
to be in equilibrium, it must be in equilibrium both with respect to translation and to rotation.
In this laboratory, a meter stick pivoted on a support whose position is adjustable will be
subjected to various forces by hanging weights on the meter stick. Measurements of the
magnitude and position of forces on the meter stick will be used to accomplish the following
objectives:
1. Application of the complete conditions for equilibrium of a rigid body to a meter stick,
2. Experimental determination of the center of gravity of the meter stick,
3. Determination of the mass of the meter stick by the application of known torques to the
meter stick,

Theory:
The principle superposition which is the net torque is the sum of the individual torques. In
this experiment, the magnitude of the
cw
and the magnitude of the
ccw
should be equal
theoretically to achieve the equilibrium.












Physics Report: Lab 1
Results and Calculations:


Physics Report: Lab 1
Discussion/Conclusion:
From the experiment, we have learned that in order to make the body in equilibrium
state, we must achieve a net torque which is equal to zero. Therefore, the magnitude
of the
cw
and the magnitude of the
ccw
must be equal to achieve the
equilibrium. This obeys the principle of superposition that is the net torque is the sum
of the individual torque.
Based on table 1, the percentage difference between
cw
and
ccw
is 0.259%. It is
found that the experiment error is less than 10 % and therefore, the 1
st
part experiment
is conducted precisely to the theoretical value. The experimental result is nearing to
the theoretical value that is the sum of the magnitude of the
cw
and the magnitude
of the
ccw
is the same.
Based on table 2, the percentage difference between
cw
and
ccw
is 0.0991%. It is
found that the experiment error is less than 10 % and therefore, the 2
nd
part
experiment is conducted precisely to the theoretical value. The experimental result is
nearing to the theoretical value that is the sum of the magnitude of the
cw
and the
magnitude of the
ccw
is the same.
Based on table 3, the experiment error is 0.168%. It is found that the percentage error
is less than 10% and this shows that the part 3 of the experiment is conducted
precisely to the theoretical value too. The experimental value , (m
0
)
exp
is nearing to
the theoretical value: m
0
which is 0.1189kg.
Practically, there will be some error occur when conducting the experiment. The
result obtained from the experiment usually has at least a slight percentage error from
the theoretical value. This is due to external factors such as wind and random error
like parallax error, especially in this kind of experiment.
For improvement suggestion, close the window and avoid conducting the experiment
near the fan or air conditioning. Besides that, the eye must be perpendicular to the
scale of the ruler when taking measurement.