Nt1310 Unit 6 Lab Report

In this lab there were five different stations. For the first station we had to determine an unknown mass and the percent difference. To find the unknown mass we set up the equation Fleft*dleft = Fright*dright. We then substituted in the values (26.05 N * 41cm = 34cm * x N) and solved for Fright to get (320.5g). To determine the percent difference we used the formula Abs[((Value 1 - Value 2) / average of 1 & 2) * 100], substituted the values (Abs[((320.5 - 315.8) / ((320.5 + 315.8) / 2)) * 100]) and solved to get (1.58%). For the second station we had to determine the distance required to balance the system and the percent difference. To find the unknown distance we set up the equation Fleft*dleft = Fright*dright. We then plugged in the values (11.35 N * x cm = 48cm *

For example, at the 1st station the ruler was slightly off balanced. This could have affected the results because we could have used inaccurate quantities when determining our answer. Another example would be the clips at the ends of the board in station 5. Since they jutted out slightly at the end it added some length to the board. This most likely affected the angle between the board and string. Therefore we then could have used inaccurate quantities when determining our answer.

Another source of error that could have happened would be failure to account for a factor. An example of this would be station number four. To determine the weight of the board we used a leaning tower which had a “hidden” weight. When determining the distance from this leaning tower to the rotation point we didn’t take into consideration where that “hidden” weight would be and instead just measured from its center. Since we didn’t measure the distance from the point of the “hidden” weight it would have resulted in an inaccurate measurement. This, in turn, would have then resulted in inaccurate calculations leading to an inaccurate