Torque Lab report

By (Group 2)

Pathitta Kittimongkolsuk
Wanwarisa Krittiyasrisumet
Pannacha Lertlarpnont
Natanicha Sangprakai

Accelerated Physics 1101

Ms. Susana Alulod
Mahidol University International Demonstration
School
Semester 2 Academic Year 2017-2018
 Introduction
   Torque is a measurement of force that causes the
object to rotate about an axis. It is the same as
the force that causes the object to accelerate in
linear kinematic motion, but it causes an angular
acceleration to the object. Torque is a vector
quantity, which means that it has both magnitude
and direction. The direction of torque depends on the
direction of the force on an axis. For example, torque
is the force that can be calculated when we push the
door. The farther we push from the hinge, the less
force we need to apply. Moreover, torque can be
calculated by multiplying the force that
perpendicularly applied on the object and the length
between the place that force applied, which also
called the moment arm and the rotational angle.
From the equation τ = F ⋅ l, where l is the length of
the moment arm with direction perpendicularly to it.
On the other hand, we can also write the equation in
form τ = F ⋅ lsin(θ) if the force that applied to the
moment arm is not perpendicular to the object. By
using this equation, we will know the magnitude of
the force that is perpendicular to the moment arm.
Objectives
to calculate the force that applied in different
distances to balance the object to be in its
equilibrium.

to calculate the force that applied in different

angles which makes the torque balance

to understand more about the topic that we

have studied

to apply the topic that we have studied in the

experiment.
 Experiment
MATERIALS

fulcrum

meter stick

mass hanger

hanger clamp
Hexane

protactor or half circle

silver mass cube

(5,10,20,50,100,250,500 grams)

clay

Newtonmeter
 Procedure
set the fulcrum up by balancing
the newton meter on the right
side of the meter stick and
another side with clay

check that the meter stick is

straight (in equilibrium), this
means that the newton meter and
the clay created equal torque

put the mass hanger and the

newton meter on each side of the
meter stick

put the mass on the mass hanger

and pull another side of the
newton meter to balance it
write down the result that we
measured by using the newton
meter from different distances

repeat it for 3 times

set the meter stick again but

this time with an angles

the first angle is 51 degree,

followed by 32 and 13 degree

do the same as the first trial

and record the result

calculate the distance and percent

difference
Result
Distance F1 (l1) = 25 cm
Distance F2 (l2) = 15cm
 Calculation
Distance:
 Calculation
Angle + Distance:
 Analysis
   There are some errors in our results comparing to the
calculated data. The % differences in ‘only distance’
experiment range from 0% - 1.8%, and in ‘distance+angular’
experiment, the percentages range from 0.59% - 11.57%. The
causes of these inaccuracies might be from human errors
and the environment we did the experiment in. Human
errors took part when we manually pulled the newton
meter to balanced out the system. Our hands might not
be stable enough, so the scale kept changing, and when we
read the scale we can’t accurately read the exact number.
Also, when we pulled the newton meter, we might
accidentally inserted too much force or too little force, so
the force that we get from reading the scale might be a
little bit higher or lower than what we actually get from
calculation. The environment might be the cause because
the place where we did the experiment was exactly where
the air conditioner in the room blow. Therefore, our meter
stick can’t balanced out, so our result might shifted a
little.
 Conclusion
   In conclusion, to balance out or to get the equilibrium
of the meter stick, we have to make the net torque equal
to zero (=0). Therefore, the F2 in our experiment have to
be greater than F1 because the distance of F2 is shorter
according to the equation for torque (= Fl).
 Recomendation
   In the next experiment, our group suggested that we
should make the equipments stronger. For example, the
hanger that is connected between the meter stick and the
clamp should be stated still. It should not swing when we
pulled the fulcrum or put on the mass in the experiment
method. It is one of the reason that makes our result
not as accurate as it should be. We can see from the
percent difference that one of the trial is more than 11
percent different which is quite a lot comparing to other
trials. Also, it was hard to see that the torque we set is
in equilibrium or not by using our own bare eyes. We
better have an equipment that can be used to measure
whether or not the meter stick is parallel to the desk. In
addition, adding clay to one side of the stick might not be
very accurate because we cannot exactly measure the
perfect weight of the clay to make the meter stick stays
in equilibrium. 
References
Torque. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2018, from
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/to
rque-angular-momentum/torque-
tutorial/a/torque

What is Torque? (n.d.). Retrieved February 11,

2018, from
https://www.physics.uoguelph.ca/tutorials/torqu
e/Q.torque.intro.html

Torque (Moment). (n.d.). Retrieved February 11,

2018, from https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-
12/airplane/torque.html

Torque Formula (Moment of Inertia and Angular

Acceleration). (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2018,
from
http://www.softschools.com/formulas/physics/t
orque_formula/59/
 Work log
Experimenting, Introduction,
Natanicha Objective, Recommendation

Experimenting,, Introduction,
Pannacha  References, Materials, Procedure

Experimenting, Decoration, Results &

Pathitta  Calculation

Wanwarisa Experimenting, Analysis, Results &

Calculations, Conclusion