Physics I Laboratory Faculty of Science, Ontario Tech University

Lab Report PhyI-02: Mechanical Equilibrium

Student’s name____Eric Pilecki_____ CRN 72275 Date _______3/21/2023______

First angle _____5 ⁰______ mass at first pulley = mass of hanger __5 g____ + extra mass 1 __10g__

Second angle ___120 ⁰______ mass at second pulley = mass of hanger ___5 g___ + extra mass 2__5 g_

Table 1

FA FB Equilibrant, FE
Method
Magnitude, Magnitude, Magnitude, Direction,
Direction,  Direction, 
mN mN mN 
137.2 226 ⁰
Experiment: 147 5⁰ 98 120 ⁰

FEx =- 97.44
Component: FAx =146.44 FBx = 49 226 ⁰
N/A N/A FEy = 97.682
FAy = 12.812 FBy = 84.87
FE = 137.972
Graphical: N/A N/A N/A N/A
138 226.5 ⁰

Conclusion:

The purpose of this lab was to experimentally determine the force required to balance two other forces
and verify the resulting equilibrant force using mathematical and graphical methods. The primary
sources of error in this experiment stemmed from instrumental uncertainties, due to the limitations of the
measuring devices, and statistical uncertainties, such as friction between the pulley and the strings, and
the fact the strings’ mass was unaccounted for. I think the component method is the most precise
because it allows us to remove instrumental uncertainties from our calculations. However, the resulting
equilibrant forces from the three methods are all extremely similar in value. It is logical to conclude that
the forces should be different for each method because each method has its own unique source of error.
Looking at the percentage differences of the equilibrant forces confirms this as each one produces a
different result, but the difference is remarkably small, which in turn could be due to each method’s
unique source of error. Overall, the purpose of this lab was achieved as the experimentally determined
equilibrant force matches the equilibrant force from both the graphical and mathematical methods.

Lab Report PhyI-02: Mechanical Equilibrium