MAPUA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Department of Physics

E204: TORQUE: SECOND

CONDITION OF EQUILIBRUIM

SAPIANDANTE, Goran Y.
2014108404 BSECE-2 Group 3
PHY11L-B7

SCORE:

Group Report (/40):

Analysis and Conclusion (/40):
Presentation (/20):
Safe Assign Score:

TOTAL

Engr. Ericson D. Dimaunahan

Instructor
March 17, 2017
ANALYSIS
Last meeting, we had to do two experiments in whole period because there are only few
meetings left. And also, because the professor said that E205 is really easy and wont consume much
of our time that’s why we did it also. The first experiment that we did was E204. In this experiment,
entitled Torque: 2nd Condition of Equilibrium, we were the ones who finished first. Setting the lab
apparatuses were easy. It is pretty straightforward because you only have to put the rod in place.
Although we were confused during the experiment, especially the pans. We didn’t know where to
place them until we figured out that we can place them anywhere in the rod. And balancing them
also was not easy, especially if there are human errors. In our case, our table was not perfectly
horizontal that’s why the rod was wiggling and it made our experiment a little harder. But after we
figured that out, we already know what procedures to follow and the steps were clear. The first part
that we had to do was to determine the weight of the pans. Since the formulas are not given in our
lab manual, we are required to do it and derive it manually. This is the part where we all tried to make
equations. The first equation is the hardest one because it has so many variables. One of our member
got the right equation and the way she derived it was so long that we didn’t have to put it in our
notebook since it would take a lot of time. And then for the other equations, I managed to derive it
since it was easier than the first equation. The value of the weight that we got for Pan 1 is 25.8824 grams
while the value of the weight that we got for Pan 2 is 25.9150 grams. They are almost the same if it were
to be rounded off even to the nearest thousandths. With these values, the percentage difference that
we got is 5.0977% for Pan 1 and 5.1353% for Pan 2 which is small and is accepted. The second part that
we had to do was to determine the force needed to be in equilibrium. This is pretty straightforward as
we derive the equations from the Tnet=0. The result that we got for our first trial is 202.4334 grams. While
the second one is -66.7857 grams. And the last part, determining the weight of the beam, we also
derived the equations and it was easier than we thought. The results that we got are 126.225g, 127.2g,
130.35g for Trials 1, 2, and 3 respectively.
SAMPLE COMPUTATIONS
TABLE 1:
Trial L1 L2 L3 L4 P1computed P2computed
1 W1=10g 13cm 18cm 21.5cm 18cm 25.8824g 25.9150g
W2=5g
2 W1=15g 16cm 26cm 25cm 13cm 26.1765g 25.3394g
W2=25g
3 W1=30g 10.3cm 22.7cm 20.3cm 11.7cm 26.2030g 25.5143g
W2=20g

−𝑚2 𝐿2 𝐿4 − 𝑚1 𝐿1 𝐿4 −(5𝑔)(18𝑐𝑚)(18𝑐𝑚) − (10𝑔)(13𝑐𝑚)(18𝑐𝑚)

𝑝1 = = = 𝟐𝟓. 𝟖𝟖𝟐𝟒𝒈
𝐿1 𝐿4 − 𝐿3 𝐿2 (13𝑐𝑚)(18𝑐𝑚) − (21.5𝑐𝑚)(18𝑐𝑚)
𝑚1 𝐿1 + 𝑃1 𝐿1 (10𝑔)(13𝑐𝑚) + (25.8824𝑔)(13𝑐𝑚)
𝑃2 = = = 𝟐𝟓. 𝟗𝟏𝟓𝟎𝒈
𝐿2 18𝑐𝑚

|26.09728 − 24.8|
𝑃1 %𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓 = 𝑥100% = 𝟓. 𝟎𝟗𝟕𝟕%
26.09728 + 24.8
( 2 )
|25.58994 − 24.8|
𝑃2 %𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓 = 𝑥100% = 𝟓. 𝟏𝟑𝟓𝟑%
21.58994 + 24.8
( 2 )
TABLE 2:
Trial L1 L2 W1+P1 Fcomputed Fmeasured %diff
1 25cm 8cm 74.8g 203.4334g 210g 3.67%
2 28cm 28cm 74.8g -66.7857g -70g 4.7%

(𝑊1 + 𝑃1 )(𝐿1 ) sin 𝜃 (74.8𝑔)(25𝑐𝑚)𝑠𝑖𝑛(60°)

𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑑 = = = 𝟐𝟎𝟐. 𝟒𝟑𝟑𝟒𝒈
𝐿2 8𝑐𝑚
|202.4334 − 210|
%𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓 = 𝑥100% = 𝟑. 𝟔𝟕%
202.4334 + 210
( 2 )
TABLE 3
Trial L1 L2 W1+P1 Wb(computed) Wb(measured)
1 13.5cm 8cm 74.8g 126.225g 131.5g
2 12cm 8cm 84.8g 127.2g 131.5g
3 11cm 8cm 94.8g 130.35g 131.5g

(𝑊1 + 𝑃1 )(𝐿1 ) (74.8𝑔)(13.5𝑐𝑚)

𝑊𝑏(𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑑) = = = 𝟏𝟐𝟔. 𝟐𝟐𝟓𝒈
𝐿2 8𝑐𝑚
|126.225 − 131.5|
%𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓 = 𝑥100% = 𝟐. 𝟕𝟔%
126.225 + 131.5
( 2 )
CONCLUSION
In theory, torque is the ability of force to rotate a particle. This experiment is a little bit easier than
the previous experiments because it does not have many apparatuses and they were easy to set up.
We have also successfully met the objectives which are to analyse systems in equilibrium using second
condition and to distinguish some of the second condition of equilibrium’s use and significance. We
finished it faster than the other because we only had some minor problems like the table not being
horizontal, some measurement errors, and some other human errors. Other than that, doing this
experiment really opens our mind to some torque problems. Having said so, the only problem in this
experiment is finding the right equation. If you don’t have the right equation, you are going to have
problems because there will be a big percentage difference when you compute for it. The experiment
is open for a lot of human errors especially when getting the equilibrium. Balancing the rod is not easy
as it looks because the pan may sometimes slip and we are not sure if we have the rod in horizontal
position because somehow it looks like it is 2 degrees to the left. Since it will only make a slight difference
when computing for percent error, we left it like that so we will not waste any time.