FORCE TABLE EXPERIMENT ESSAY

FORCE TABLE EXPERIMENT

The experiment is aimed at verifying vector addition. Newton’s second law of motion can be interpreted to mean that the sum of all vector forces on an object is zero. In this experiment, the vector addition will include finding the orthogonal components of each of the vectors and then adding the up to get a resultant vector R.

Vector N presents the total number of the forces that are acting on a given object. The magnitude of the resulting vector:-

The angle between the vector can be obtained as follows:-

An equilibrant vector when added to R returns zero.

The experiment will be used to illustrate that forces that have different magnitudes and directions may act at a point and have a resultant force that is zero. This resultant force can also be obtained from a process regarded to as special vector addition.

Raw data and analysis

Figure 1

Figure 2

The forces that were applied and resultant forces analyzed as shown in the above table.

Consider F1

Force =MA

=Mass x acceleration

=0.1 x 9.8

=0.98

F2=1.96

Consider the hypotenuse of the force diagram,

This is the resultant of the two forces.

From trigonometry, R= 2.842 at 68.13 degrees in the X direction.

Error calculation

The percentage error magnitude in the experiment can be compared to the analytical value.

Percentage error is 1%.

Discussion and conclusion

The lab assisted us in gaining the familiarity in working with the vectors. In the experiment, we used two methods to obtain the data in the above tables. The first method was the experimental method. In the experimental method, we obtained the data as shown in the table 1 above. A force of 1.47 newton is subjected at an angle of 30 degrees to a 1.5 kg weight. The resultant magnitude can be determined in the experiment.

Using the algebraic method, forces in either side of the diagram can be determined. Those that are allied towards the X direction can be termed negative while those that are otherwise can be deemed negative. In the experimental method, F1 is subjected at 20 degrees from zero. F2 is subjected at 90 degrees. The resultant force in the scenario is obtained 2.842 N. the resultant force is 2.842 at 68.13 degrees. The second method included algebraic method in which the forces were added together. There is a significant error that is obtained in the process. The possible sources of error may include: – mass of strings, friction in the pulleys and also errors in terms of directions of the forces too. In an instance where the force table lies at an angle, there would definitely be an error in the resultant figures.

In the experiment, it is necessary to ensure that the pulleys are tugged. Also they should be calibrated properly. In a scenario where the pulleys were not used, greater friction would have resulted due to the table edges. The pulleys also help in holding the strings in place. Angles of direction would be greatly skewed in an instance where the pulleys were not utilized. The weight of the strings also skewed our data little bit. The weight of the strings is however not large enough to cause a significant error in the results.