LAB REPORT 8: Torque and the Equilibrium of Rigid Bodies February 28, 2011

Ralph Jones, Jr. Baysha Bernales Kilani Davis Osuwa Yaw

I. Introduction This laboratory experiment makes use of a meter stick, ruler, mass hangars, a balance, and a nonconcurrent forces apparatus, which collects data on the angles that forces may be acting with respect to one another. The forces may be increased by the addition of weight to a predetermined point on the y plane. All of this is done in an effort to show that in congruence with rotational momentum (a vector quantity), when the torques acting on an overall system sum to zero, the body has reached an overall rotational equilibrium. These theorems are collectively coined in this lab, Torque and the Equilibrium of Rigid Bodies, whose postulates appear below and ultimately this lab will further prove these widely accepted scientific principles.

Equation T=Fr sin

Table 1: Equations(new) Explanation For the magnitude of torque For the sum of forces (equilibrium condition)

Data Table 3: (measurements of moment of inertia) Left Side Right Side Weight Distance Torque Weight Distance (N) (m) (Nm) () () meter stick 0.110 0.503 0.542 0.110 0.497 one side 0.1738 0.371 0.632 0.1726 0.369 each two and 0.1738 0.371 0.632 0.1726 0.142 one 0.0912 0.431 total torque (right) Force # 1 2 3 4 5 Angle ( ) 73 89 126 100 90 Weight (N) 0.440 0.150 0.050 0.545 0.8605 Distance (m) 0.070 0.146 0.255 0.411 0.285 cw torque (Nm) 0.289 0.214 0.101 0 2.10

% Torque dif () 0.536 1.11% 0.624 1.26% 0.240 0.385 0.625 1.11%

ccw torque (Nm) 0 0 0 2.46 0

% difference 100% 100% 100% -100% 100%

Questions: 1. The percent difference between clockwise and counter clockwise torque in Part II of our experiment can be found in the table above. It is calculated to be 9.6%. 2. Equilibrium condition is defined as when the sum of the forces of a system equal zero. Therefore, the quantity of forces is unimportant when compared to the sum of them. Yes, the total clockwise torque is always equal to the total counterclockwise torque of a system

3.

4. It requires the body to move at a constant velocity in a straight line with all forces balanced to zero (note that v=0 is a constant also, so the body could be at rest, but isn't required to be) 5. It requires that the angular velocity of the body is constant and that the summation of the forces acting on the body is zero. 6. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________

Error Discussion There were several possible sources of error in this experiment, including but not limited to misreading of the measuring devices by the observer, namely our meter stick (error magnitude 0.01m) and non-concurrent forces apparatus (error magnitude 0.10), improper positioning of the fulcrum (error magnitude 0.01m), outside unaccounted force acting on the mass hangar (error magnitude unknown), and/or inaccuracy due to improper measurement of mass (0.001kg). Error Percentage = 3.7% (Part 1) = 9.6% (Part 2)

Calculations

Conclusion Through the data gathered in this experiment, we were able to demonstrate the theory behind the rotational and translational equilibrium of rigid bodies, and its relationship with the equilibrium condition, which states that the sum of the systems forces must equal zero. We proved this concept in a closed system with torque being measured in two separate but similar scenarios, where torque was impounded by interchangeable amounts of mass. By calculating effective measures for distance and the angle at which a systems forces are applied, and accounting for the change in force when more mass is introduced into our closed system, we can formulate accurate values for torque. And by measuring the change in these values at different inertias and level of force (or lack thereof), we are able to prove that torque is directly related to the equilibrium of a systems concurrent/non-concurrent forces.