Student

Materials:
Force table, slotted masses (grams) and hangers, center ring, pin and strings, and level.

Purpose
Analyze forces in equilibrium using the vector component addition method.Background
Any set of forces acting on an object can be substituted by a single equivalent force, called a resultant force, R. However, if an object is at rest (or moving at constant velocity), it is in astate of equilibrium where all forces acting upon the object cancel each other out. In this lab, we will have three forces set to be in equilibrium. Using vector component addition, you will showthat the resultant force of any two of these forces applied to the object is equal to the third force in magnitude and opposite in the direction; it will cancel out the resultant force, R, and the objectwill stay in equilibrium. A force equal and opposite to R is called the equilibrant, E.

Thus if an object remains at rest under the action of several forces, one of the forces will be theequilibrant of all the remaining forces. Experimentally, this is the best way to find R as it is equal and opposite to E which is easy to find.

Methods:
In this experiment you will find the vector sum(called resultant R) of two vector quantities and compare it to actual measurement. The vectors in this case are forces applied to a central ring. Experimental verification of vector addition formechanical forces is applicable to other physical vector quantities.

Procedure:
First, use the level to balance the force table by adjusting the three leg height screws. The hanging masses willrepresent the magnitude of the force vectors and their respective angles will be read from the scale on the top of the force table. The force of tension in each string is equal to the weight of theassociated hanging mass.

Force table setup.
1. Fix two pulleys at the 0º and 70º angles and add 100 gram masses to each of their hangers. The strings should not
experience friction at the pulleys...