Experiment 3: Conditions for Equilibrium

Laboratory Report
Jerard Gaerlan, Rovelyn Gonzales, Richelle Ignacio, Fredda Wil Jamora
Department of Math and Physics
College of Science, University of Sto. Tomas
Espaa, Manila
Abstract
Equilibrium is the condition of a
system in which the forces acting on it
are balanced. This experiment is
divided into four parts: Equilibrant
force, where pan C is manipulated in
order to balance the force excerted by
pan A and pan B; First condition for
equilibrium, where we located the
point where in the force exerted by
Tension 1 would cancel the force
exerted by Tension 2; Location of
center of gravity, where we located the
cardboards center of gravity and
Second condition of equilibrium,
where we located the point in the
system where in the rotational force
acting on it would be equal to zero.
1. Introduction
Balance is a major aspect of life.
Too much and too little of something
is never good. In physics, balance is
also important. For example, gravity
holds together heavenly bodies like
planets and stars and keeps them in
place due to a state of equilibrium.
Equilibrium
makes
the
world
harmonious. When we talk of
equilibrium, there are two conditions.
First, the net external force or the sum
of all forces acting upon an object
must equal to zero. Second, the net
external torque must be zero. In the
experiment, equilibrant force, the thing
that keeps things motionless, must be
determined using a force table and
component method. Unknown forces

must be determined using conditions

of equilibrium. Also, center of gravity
of a composite object must be located
and rotational equilibrium must be
demonstrated.
2. Theory
An object in equilibrium has a
balanced forces acting on it, in other
words, it has a net force and an
acceleration of 0.
Conditions for equilibrium are the
following:
1. Net force = 0
x and y forces may be separately
set
Forces East= Forces West
Forces North = Forces South
2. Forces of the clockwise torque =
Forces counter-clockwise torque

Fx = 0
Fy = 0
Formula below are used to compute for
the x and y components
Force
F

Horizontal
Component
Fcos

Vertical
component
Fsin

Activity 1 & 2:
A. Horizontal component of Fa +
Horizontal component of Fb = 0

B. Vertical component of Fa + Vertical

component of Fb = 0
Therefore, we can use the formula
below in computing for an unknown
tension.
A. Fa cos + Fb cos = 0
Fa cos = - Fc cos
B. Fa sin + Fb sin = 0
Fa sin = - Fb sin
Activity 3:
In locating the center of gravity,
the formula
Xc *Wc + Xs *Ws
x
Wc + Ws

y=

Yc *Wc + Ys *Ws
Wc + Ws

is used.
T = Force * l

An object in equilibrium does not

rotate. That means the sum of all the
rotational forces on it is also zero.

T = 0
Therefore, the torque clockwise must
be equal to the torque
counterclockwise, negative sign for the
force that creates a clockwise motion
and positive for counterclockwise.

In the experiment, the formula

Fst (l ) + Wb(0) Wc(l ) + Fsp(l ) = 0
was used.

Lastly, the formula used for Activity 4

is written below
!! =

2!"# !! (! 5!")
!
2

wherein
Wc = Weight of the cylinder
L = Length of the bar

3. Methodology

This experiment, comprised of four
activities, made use of the following
materials: (1) force the table and
accessories, (2) force board, (3)
cylinder of unknown weight, (4) spring
scale, (5) electronic gram balance, (6)
card board/index card, (7) aluminium
bar, and (8) protractor.

For the first activity called the

Equilibrant Force, the group made use
of the force table, which was a circular
board with graduations. It had three
strings meeting at a ring found at the
middle of the board and at the end of
each strings were pans labelled as Pan
A, Pan B, and Pan C. All pans were
weighed and labeled. After which, Pan
A, and Pan B were hung at 30 and
200 respectively. On Pan A, the group
placed 100g and on Pan B, 150 g. The
goal therefore, was to balance the
tensions on the pans by adding weight
on Pan C, and adjusting the position in
the force table, and put the pin at the
centre of the ring. The magnitude,
which is the weight of Pan C and the
weight added, and position of the
equilibrant. The theoretical equilibrant
of the tensions was solved by
component method, then % error was
determined using values obtained by
component
method.
First Condition for Equilibrium, the
second activity, made use of the force
board, a rectangular board with a
spring scale at the upper left portion. A
cylinder was suspended by means of
two strings with one attached to the
spring scale. Another string was pulled
horizontally until the pin on the force
board is exactly at the middle of the
ring. The angle made by the strings
was measured. With T1 as the reading
on the spring scale, T2 was solved for.
The cylinder was weighed and the
group computed for % error.
The third activity, Locating the
Centre of Gravity, made use of the
card board, or in the group's case,
index card. A circle with 10cm
diameter and a square with 10cm side
was drawn and cut separately and
weighed. After which, the two figures
were combined by sticking the circle
on the right side of the square. The
balancing method, and plumb line

method was used to determine the

centre of gravity of the index card
figure. The results were then checked
by computing for the actual center of
gravity by using the formula.
Lastly, the Second Condition of
Equilibrium, the fourth activity,
located the centre of gravity of an
aluminium bar by balancing it on a
pencil. Position was marked. A
cylinder was hung 5.0 cm from one
end of the bar. Using the force board,
the aluminium bar was supported by
means of a spring scale on end and a
string on the other end until the bar is
in horizontal position. With the forces
on the bar balanced, the second
condition for equilibrium was used to
determine the weight of the bar and the
tension in the string. The accepted
value would be the weight of the bar in
an electronic gram balance. Then the
group computed for the % error.

4. Results and Discussion
Activity 1:
Tensions
!!
!!
Experimental
Equilibrant
Theoretical
Equilibrant
% Error

Magnitude
(N)
1.31 N
1.87 N
1.62 N

Position
()
240
0
139

1.66N

221

2.47%

Data and Computations:

!!
(N) =
1.31N
!!
(N) =
1.87N

Angle
xy()
component component
240
-0.66N
-1.13 N
0

1.87N

0N

!! =
1.22 N

!! = 1.13 N

!.!!

!! (N) =

!!.!"!!!""!( ! )
!
!"""

!.!!

= 1.31!

x-component of !! : 1.31 cos 240 =

0.66!
y-component of !! : 1.31sin 240 =
1.13 N
!! = -0.66N + 1.87N = 1.22 N
!! = -1.13N + 0N = -1.13 N
Theoretical Equilibrant =
1.22! ! + 1.13! !
Theoretical Equilibrant =1.66N
Experimental Equilibrant:
!.!!
!".!"!!!"#!( ! )
!

!! (N) =

!"""

= 1.62N

x-component of !! : 1.62 cos 221 =

1.22!
y-component of !! : 1.62sin 221 =
1.06 N
Experimental Equilibrant =
1.22! ! + 1.06! !
Experimental Equilibrant = 1.62N
% Error =
!!!"#!$%&'( !"#$%!!"#$% !"#$%
!"#$% !"#$%

% Error =

!.!!!!!.!"!
!.!"!

!".!"!!!"#!( ! )
!

!! (N) =

!"""

= 1.87N

x-component of !! : 1.87cos 0 =
1.87!
y-component of !! : 1.87sin 0 = 0 N
data for computing for the resultant
equilibrant force. By comparing it with
the theoretical value, the group
garnered a 2.87% error, which shows
how close the experimental value is to
the theoretical value.
!! (N)

1.18 N

()

52

!! (N)

1.18 N

Experimental 0.770
Weight (N)
N
Theoretical
0.650
Weight (N)
N
% Error
15.58%

Activity 2:
x 100

Data and Computations:

x 100

% Error = 2.47%
In activity 1, the data that the
group has gathered is reasonable
considering that we have achieved a
less than 10% error. The group
acquired
the
theoretical
and
experimental equilibrant given the two
tensions acting on the force board. By
using the component method, the
group was able to deduce the needed

Angl
e ()
!!
(N) =
1.12
N
!!
(N) =
1.12
N

52

270

xycomponen componen
t
t
0.73 N
0.93 N

0N

-1.18 N

!! =
0.73 N

!! = 0.25 N

x-component of !! : 1.18 cos 52 =

0.73!
y-component of !! : 1.18sin 52 =
0.93 N
x-component of !! : 1.12cos 270 =
0!
y-component of !! : 1.12sin 270 =
1.18 N
!! = 0.73! + 0! = 0.68!
!! = 0.93! + 1.18! = 0.25!
! = 0.73!
! = 0.77!

+ 0.25

In activity 2, the data that the

group has gathered is slightly
unreliable due to the fact that we have
exceeded the 10% error range. One
possible cause for this is the
inaccuracy of measurement of the
angle. During the experiment, the
group had a difficult time measuring
the angle using a protractor. The angle
acquired is merely estimation.
Nonetheless, the experimental value is
not too far from the theoretical value,
giving us a 15.58%.
Activity 3:

Method

% Error =
!!!"#!$%&'( !"#$%!!"#$% !"#$%
!"#$% !"#$%

% Error =

!.!"!!!.!!!
!.!"!

x 100

x 100

% Error = 15.58%

Plumb line
Method
Balancing
Method
Computation

Center of Gravity
xycoordinate coordinate
9.0 cm
5.0 cm
9.50 cm

4.90 cm

9.719 cm

5.0 cm

The formulas used were,

!=

!! . !! + !! . !!
!! + !!

wherein:
!! = 15cm
!! = 12.35g
!! = 5cm

!=

!! . !! + !! . !!
!! + !!

!! = 13.82g
!! = 5cm
!! = 5c
Computations:

!
=

(15!")(12.35!) + (5!")(13.82!)
12.35! + 13.82!

(5!")(12.35!) + (5!")(13.82!)
12.35! + 13.82!

!=

185.25!. !" + 69.1!. !"

26.17!

!=

254.5 !. !"
26.17!

!=

! = 9.719!"

61.75!. !" + 69.1!. !"

26.17!

!=

130.9 !. !"
26.17!

Computations:

! = 5!"
In activity 3, the location of the center
of gravity was acquired 2 ways
balancing method and plumb line
method. In the balancing method, the
two shapes were merely lifted by the
point finger and its coordinates were
determined. With the use of the plumb
line method, the formula above
provided a more accurate way of
computing the coordinates. Comparing
the two results, their difference is
small.

Reading
of Spring
Scale (N)
Weight of
the
Cylinder
(N)
Tension
of the
String
Experime
ntal
Weight of
bar (N)
Theoretic
al Weight
of bar (N)
% Error

Activity 4:
0.3 N
0.49 N

-----------------------------0.75 N

0.85 N
13 %
The formula used was,
2!"# !! (! 5!")
!! =
!
2
wherein:
!! = 0.49!
! = 39.8!"
!"# = 0.3

!!
2(0.3 !) (0.49 !)(39.8!" 5!")
=
39.8!"
2
!! = 0.75 !
% Error =
!!!"#!$%&'( !"#$%!!"#$% !"#$%
!"#$% !"#$%

% Error =

!.!" !!!.!" !
!.!" !

x 100

x 100

% Error = 13 %
In activity 4, the weight of the
aluminum bar was derived through
the given formula above. After
getting the theoretical weight of the
bar by directly weighing it on a
platform balance, the group has
garnered a 13% error. Although
going past the 10% error mark, the
weights of the bar using two
different methods are not all that far.
Albeit the case, this may be due to
the inaccuracy of reading the spring
scale.
5. Conclusion
In the first activity in the experiment,
we used the force table and component
method by comparing the tension
exerted on two pans and we obtained
the equilibrant force on the third pan
with a low percentage error.

books using the right arm only?

We were successful in locating the
center of gravity of a composite object
composed of a square and a circle by
using the plumb line method with the
use of a string, balancing method, and
through computation. The coordinates of
the center of gravity using these different
methods were close with respect to each
other. In the activities, we managed to
use equilibrium conditions.

The person's centre of gravity

shifts downwards a few cm and
to the left if the right arm is
amputated. If the person carries
all his books using the right arm
only, the centre of gravity would
shift to the left. The person
would have to lean towards the
left to compensate for the weight
added to the right.

6. Applications
1. State the first condition of
equilibrium. If a body is in
equilibrium, are there no forces
acting on it?
The first condition of equilibrium
is that the net force in all
directions must be zero. However
this does not mean that there are
no forces acting on the body. It
just means that the forces are all
equal and opposite, just like the
one done on Activity 2.
2. The Russell traction system
shown below is used for a
fractured femur. Identify the
forces acting on the femur. If the
weight hang is 5.0 kg, find the
force needed to immobilise the
femur. What will supply this
force?
3. What happens to the centre of
gravity of a person under the
following situations: (a) His
upper right extremity is
amputated? (b) he carries all his

4. In general, a woman's centre of

gravity is lower than the man's.
Can you explain why?
Due to the skeletal structure of
both genders, women have bigger
pelvis for support when the time
comes that a woman becomes
pregnant. This also means that
the lower body of a woman is
generally heavier in relation to
the whole body as compared to
men, thus concentration of mass
is in the lower area.
7. References
Ask.com. (2015). What is equilibrant
force? Retrieved from Ask:
http://www.ask.com/science/equi
librant-force-8a5bfa009635b4be
The Physics Classroom. (2015).
Equilibrium and Statics. Retrieved from
The Physics
Classroom:
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/
vectors/Lesson3/Equilibriumand-Statics