III.

ANALYSIS

In this experiment, we analyzed the components of force, determine the resultant and equilibrant of the system of forces and compare the methods involved. These two methods which will help us to determine the resultant force were the Graphical method and the Analytical method. We will verify that the sum of forces on at object at rest in equilibrium is zero. The main objective of this experiment is to determine the resultant force of concurrent forces using both Graphical and Analytical method. Another is to determine the first condition of equilibrium and its implications, and lastly, to differentiate scalar from vector quantities and compare resultant from equilibrant.

Theory: According to Newtons second law of motion, the change in the motion of an object is determined by the net external force acting in the object: F=ma where m and a are the mass and acceleration of the object respectively For the case when an object is not undergoing an acceleration which is the first condition of the equilibrium. The sum of forces, algebraic sum of all the individual forces: F = F1 + F2+ F3 ++ Fn = 0 This equation deals with vector quantities. Breaking this down into components yields to equivalent scalar equations, each representing the three spatial directions x, y and z (in 3-dimensional space):
Fx = F1x + F2x + F3x ++ Fnx = 0 Fy = F1y + F2y + F3y ++ Fny = 0 Fz = F1z + F2z + F3z ++ Fnz = 0

F = 0, F, is the

Given the magnitude and direction of the force, we can now calculate for the force R (resultant) of all the individual forces F acting on an object. The resultant has a counterpart vector with equal magnitude but opposite in direction, this vector is called the equilibrant. The equilibrant is aptly named since when added to the vector sum it brings the vector sum equal to zero, a state of equilibrium.

In this experiment, we used the force table to get the mass of on each string and its direction or angle. We are given F1, F2, F3 and to find F4 and
1, 2, 3,

which are the

masses and the angles respectively. And we are asked

4

using the two methods: Graphical

and Analytical method. By trial and error, we need to adjust the angle of the strings or the mass on the hanger F4 until the ring is in the center. The ring must be at the center to indicate that the four forces are balanced or at equilibrium. Using the Graphical method on the first trial we have:
50

scale: 1cm=10g
F3=75g

F2 = 100g

mass (m) F1
F4 = ?

angle 30 70 320 ?

50 100 75 ?

F2 F3 F4

70

F1 = 50 g
30

On the second trial, the given are:

40 F3 = 30g

mass (m) F1 30 70 30 ?

angle 0 50 310 ?

F2 = 70g

F2
F4 = ?

F3 F4
50 F1 = 30g

Using the graphical method, I obtained

Mass in grams (m4) Trial 1 Trial 2 152 99

Angle ( 207 197

4)

We will use these values to compute for the percent error and to determine which method is better to use.

Another method we used is the component method. This method uses the sine and cosine law. The resultant may be determined by adding all the components along the x-axis and the y-axis using the Pythagorean theorem, after which, we can now compute for the resultant and the angle equations: R=   
 

by the following

Using the component method:

F2 = 100 g

F2 = 70 g

70

F1 = 50 g
30 50

F1 = 30 g

50

40

F3 = 30 g F3 = 75 g

TRIAL 1 by calculating the given datas above, I obtained:

TRIAL 2

Mass in grams (m4) Trial 1 Using Trial 2 207.65 99.13

Angle ( 207.65 198

4)

all

these

datas and the information we obtained by the graphical method. We can compute for the percent error. TRIAL 1 method GRAPHICAL COMPONENT % error of m4 1.94 1.70 % error of 0.48 0.17
4

TRIAL 2 method GRAPHICAL COMPONENT % error of m4 0.50 0.04 % error of 0.51 0.00
4

Based on the calculations above, we can say that component method was more accurate than the graphical method, since from the two trials, the graphical method obtained a higher percentage error than the component method. A high percentage of committing mistakes can occur in graphical method because it relies on the accuracy of the drawing of the figure. A little incorrect marking may result to different measurement, thus, making it prone to error. In terms of convenience, the graphical method was practical to use than the component method, since it will only require a ruler and a protractor to measure the length and the angle respectively. During the experiment, when the ring was already at the center, we need to pull the ring and released it. It is done to test if the ring will return its place at the center. It sometimes fails to return to the center and it may be due to the change in placement of the strings, since the strings were moved when the ring is pulled. We must also consider the mass hangers. Although the mass hangers have equal masses, they cant be disregarded from the experiment, so it was made sure that the masses suspended on each hanger have five mass less than the required masses, since the mass hanger is already weighing five grams itself. Thus, it is also important to consider the mass of the hangers to obtain correct results.

If the order of adding vectors is changed, the resultant will not be different since addition of vectors may be commutative and associative. Each order of operation will yield to the resultant with the same magnitude and direction. The resultant of F1, F2, F3 is equal to the force F4 with the same magnitude but in opposite direction. We can write this as:

F = F1 + F2 + F3 + F4 = 0 solving for F4: - F4 = F1 + F2 + F3 F4 = -( F1 + F2 + F3) We can say that the F4 act as the equilibrant in the given forces.