Lab 5: TORQUE AND EQUILIBRUM

PSCI-1030 NSCC

Name__________________________________________ Date________________________

OBJECTIVE: To study the second condition of equilibrium of a system.

APPARATUS: Meter stick, set of hooked weights, four lever clamps, a meter stick suspension
stand, and a digital balance. These apparatuses are available in virtual platform.

THEORY: If a given system is to be in a state of equilibrium when forces are acting on it, two
conditions must be separately satisfied: the sum of the forces should be zero (first condition of
equilibrium), and the sum of the torques caused by the forces must also be zero (second
condition of equilibrium). For a system of forces, the sum of the torques will be zero if the sum
of the clockwise (negative) torques equals the sum of the counterclockwise (positive) torques.

We will apply a given force at a certain location to produce a counterclockwise torque on the
meter stick. Then, we’ll need to determine where must another given force be placed to cause
equilibrium, and check to see if the clockwise torque produced by the second force verifies the
Second Condition of Equilibrium.

PROCEDURE:

1. Open hyperlink: Torque and Equilibrium. You will see following window.

2. Click on the boxes behind Mass Labels, Forces from Objects, Level and Ruler.

3. Place the first mass Mright a distance Rright from the fulcrum (you can choose any value you
wish). If the mass you will be placing on the left (Mleft) is to balance the mass placed on

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 the right, where should you place Mleft? In other words, by using this system of masses
you are tasked with finding the distance Rleft. Record all your values in table 1.

4. Repeat step 3 for set-ups two through ten and record your date on below table 1.

Table 1: Data
Set-up # Mright (kg) Rright (m) Mleft(kg) Rleft (m)

1 10kg .75 5kg 1.5

2 10kg 1.5 15kg 1

3 20kg .75 15kg 1

4 80kg .50 20kg 2

5 30kg 2 60kg 1

6 80kg .75 60kg 1

7 10kg 1.5 60kg .25

8 10kg 2 80kg .25

9 20kg 1.5 30kg 1

10 15kg 2 30kg 1

ANALYSIS OF DATA

1. Multiply each total mass M (in kilograms) by 9.81 m/s² to get the total force F in
Newtons. Record your answers in Table 2.

2. For each of the ten sets of data taken compute the clockwise torque (right ) and the
counterclockwise torque (left) by taking the product of the total force (F) times the
appropriate distance where the force is applied (R) .

Table 2: Data analysis.

Set-up # Fright (N) Fleft (N) τ right (Nm) τ left (Nm)

1 98.1 49.5 73.575 73.575

2 98.1 147.15 147.15 147.15

3 196.2 147.15 147.5 147.5

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 4 784.8 196.2 392.4 392.4

5 294.3 588.6 588.6 588.6

6 784.8 588.6 588.6 588.6

7 98.1 147.15 588.6 147.15

8 98.1 784.8 196.2 196.27

9 196.2 294.3 294.3 294.3

10 147.1 294.3 294.3 294.3

3. Enter your results for left and total right in excel (or a similar program). Make a graph of
right versus left using excel or a similar program (the numbers obtained for the total
clockwise (right) torque become the Y- coordinates and the numbers for the
counterclockwise (left) torque become the X-coordinates of the points on this graph). Fit
your data to a line and record the regression line slope.

4. Remember that you are balancing the meter stick, so the counterclockwise (left) torque is
supposed to be the same as the clockwise (right) torque. This means that when you graph
these values, not only a straight line should be connecting them, but that line should make
a 45 degree angle with respect to x (it can also be interpreted as having a slope equal to
1). From the slope that you found on step 4, calculate the % difference with its expected
value.

Chart Title
35000

30000

25000

20000

15000

10000

5000

0
1 2

5.
Slope of the line = _______________

Compare the slope of your line to the expected value of 1:

% difference = _______________
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Conclusions: (Did your results agree with the theory? How could you improve your
measurements? What are the potential sources of error in this experiment?)