Monday, January 9, 2017

E and A block mini-lab followup HW

You have some data from today's class.  Check that the left side and right side "balance" out mathematically.

For example, if you had one mass located on the left side, and 2 masses on the right side (where the majority of the stick is also located), the equation would resemble:

m1 x1 = m2 x2 + m3 x3 + Ms Xs

m = individual hanging masses
x = distance between the hanging mass and the fulcrum
Ms = mass of stick
Xs = distance from fulcrum to center of mass of stick (assumed to be at 50 cm)

Note that we are adding up the effects on the right side.  This is ok to do, as several things are generating torque on this side.

How close are the left and right values?  Find the percent difference between the sides, and try to account for why there is a difference at all.

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