Torque and Rotational Equilibrium

LAB 6: TORQUE AND ROTATIONAL EQUILIBRIUM This is a DIY lab. This lab is adapted from references 1 and 2. Objectives Forces acting on a body of finite size tend to both translate and rotate the body. If the body is to be in equilibrium, it must be in equilibrium both with respect to translation and to rotation. In this experiment, a metre-stick pivoted on a support whose position is adjustable will be subjected to various forces by hanging objects of various masses on the metre-stick. Measurements of the magnitude and position of forces on the metre-stick will be used to accomplish the following objectives: Application of the complete conditions for equilibrium of a rigid body to a metre-stick pivoted on a knife-edge. Experimental determination of the centre of gravity of the metre-stick. Determination of the mass of the metre-stick by the application of known torques to the metre-stick. Comparison of the experimentally determined location for a given applied force to produce rotational equilibrium with the location predicted theoretically. Determination of the mass of an unknown object.

Equipment List A (Distance Experiment) Lab Kit* metre-stick 5 knife-edge clamps support stand balance (electronic balance) masses (4 water bottles with lids) Other thread or dental floss scissors

*If you do not have the Lab Kit, you can use equivalent items. Contact your instructor regarding equivalent items to ensure that the purpose experiment is maintained. Equipment List B (NIC Campus Experiment) metre-stick 5 knife-edge clamps support stand balance masses (set of hooked masses) thread scissors

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Torque and Rotational Equilibrium

Introduction If a force acts on a rigid body that is pivoted about some axis, the body will tend to rotate provided that the line of action of the force does pass through the pivot. The tendency of a force to cause a body to rotate about some axis is measured by a quantity called torque, . Consult your textbook for an extensive review if you need it. Here only the mathematical formulation of torque is given. With reference to an arbitrarily chosen origin, the torque due to a force F applied to the body is given by rF where r is the position vector of the point of application of the force F with respect to the origin. For a body that is constrained to rotate about a certain point (i.e. is pivoted), a natural choice for the origin is the pivot. That choice is not mandatory, however. A body is said to be in static equilibrium relative to a reference frame if it is motionless relative to that frame. In an inertial reference frame (a frame in which Newtons laws are true), there are two conditions that must be satisfied for a rigid body to be in static equilibrium. The first is the condition of translational equilibrium, which means that the vector sum of all forces acting on a body must be zero:

F 0
The second is called the condition of rotational equilibrium, which means that the sum of all torques (relative to some given origin) due to those forces must be equal to zero:

0
If all of the forces act in a single geometrical plane (i.e. x-y plane, vertical-horizontal plane), then the torque, due to each individual force, is a vector perpendicular to that plane. For simplicity, the vector nature of torque is handled by the convention that a force that tends to cause counterclockwise rotation gives rise to a positive torque, and a force that tends to cause clockwise rotation gives rise to a negative torque. Rotational equilibrium will be achieved if the magnitudes of the positive and negative torques are equal. In this experiment, a metre-stick is used as an approximation of a rigid body. External forces are applied by suspending masses from it. Additionally, the distributed mass of the stick must not be ignored, since there is a gravitational interaction between the earth and all parts of the stick. (As usual, the gravitational interaction between the parts of the stick and things like the table, you, or anything else in the lab, etc. are negligibly small). It is convenient that the gravitational interaction can be treated mathematically as a force acting at a single point, called the centre of gravity. The centre of gravity of a body is defined as that point about which the sum of all the torques due to all the differential elements of mass of the body is zero. A body that is uniform and symmetric has its centre of gravity at the centre of
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DIY First-Year Physics Laboratory

Torque and Rotational Equilibrium

symmetry. The metre-stick used in this experiment is probably very close to uniform and symmetric, so its centre of gravity would probably be very close to the half-metre mark. Procedure Part I: Torque Due to Two Known Forces knife edge clamps

metre stick

mass

support

mass

extra spacing if needed If a knife-edge clamp is attached to the metre-stick, remove it. Determine the mass of the metrestick using the balance and record it. Later, you will use a different method to measure the mass of the metre-stick, and you will compare it to the value obtained from the laboratory balance. Place a knife-edge clamp on the metre-stick and place it on the support. Should the thumbscrew on the clamp (not shown in diagram) be pointing up or down? Which configuration will be more stable? It is important to choose correctly, or you will have great difficulty achieving rotational equilibrium. Adjust the position of the clamp until the best balance is achieved. Be sure the clamp is tight once balance has been achieved. The position of the knife-edge must be the location of the centre of gravity of the stick, for the reasons stated in the introduction. Record it. Suspend a 100 g mass (water bottle + water if home lab) at the 30 cm mark. Experimentally determine the position at which a 200 g mass must be placed in order to balance the stick. Measure and record the actual masses and their positions. The mass of the hanger must also be included. It is best to measure a mass and its hanger at the same time to minimize uncertainty. Calculate and record the moment arm for each force. Note that the support stand also exerts a force on the stick. Will it contribute to the torque about the centre of gravity? Evaluate the counter-clockwise torque and the clockwise torque on the metre-stick. Use the value 9.81 m/s2 for the gravitational field strength. Theoretically, the counter-clockwise and clockwise torques should have the same magnitude. Are your results consistent with this? Give a quantitative comparison.

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Torque and Rotational Equilibrium

Part II: Torque Due to Three Known Forces With the stick supported at the centre of gravity, hang a 100 g mass at the 10 cm mark and a 200 g mass at the 75 cm mark. Experimentally determine the position at which a 50 g mass must be placed in order to establish rotational equilibrium. Record all relevant measurements. Calculate and record the moment arm of each force that contributes a non-zero torque. Calculate the clockwise and counter-clockwise torques as in part I, and check that the results are consistent with the theory using a quantitative comparison.

Part III: Determination of Metre-Stick Mass by Torques Hang a 200 g mass at the 10 cm mark. Loosen the knife-edge clamp and slide the metre-stick until it is once again balanced. Tighten the clamp when the best balance is achieved. Record the position of the knife-edge clamp. According to the theory, in a state of rotational equilibrium, the torque on the stick due to the hanging mass is equal and opposite to the torque on the stick due to the weight of the stick acting at the centre of gravity. If true, then the mass of the stick can be determined by a torque calculation. Comparison with the laboratory scale measurement will either support or refute the validity of these ideas. Measure and record all relevant data. Calculate and record the moment arm for any forces contributing non-zero torque. Assuming the mass of the stick is unknown, use the mathematical condition for rotational equilibrium to determine the mass of the stick and check whether or not the value so obtained is consistent with the measured mass obtained in part I.

Part IV: Comparison of Experimental and Theoretical Determinations of Location of an Applied Force. Move the knife-edge clamp to the 40 cm mark on the stick. Place a 50 g mass at the 5 cm mark, a 300 g mass at the 30 cm mark, and a 200 g mass at the 70 cm mark. With the stick supported on the knife-edge at the 40 cm mark, experimentally determine the location at which a 100 g mass must placed to achieve rotational equilibrium. Note that for convenience, you will probably want to hang the 100 g mass using a piece of thread since you dont know ahead of time where to place it. Measure and record all relevant data required to determine forces and torques, as you have been doing in the previous sections. In your analysis for this section, write an equation for the rotational equilibrium in which the counter-clockwise torques are positive and the clockwise torques are negative, treating the moment arm for the 100 g mass (the last mass you added) as an unknown. Solve the equation for this unknown moment arm. The result is the moment arm predicted by the theory. Check to see if your experimental result is consistent with the theory.

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Torque and Rotational Equilibrium

Part V: Determination of an Unknown Mass by Torques. Devise a method to determine an unknown mass using an experimental arrangement with the metre-stick that is similar to those that have been used thus far. Describe carefully the procedure that is followed. Write this in your own words. Use at least one known mass and state its value and location on the stick. Write down an equation that describes the equilibrium of the system treating the unknown mass as the unknown in the equation. Include a sketch of the experimental arrangement showing the position of all masses known and unknown. Record all relevant measurements. Determine the unknown mass using a laboratory balance, and check that your experimental value is consistent with the mass obtained using the laboratory balance. Questions 1. In all of the experimental arrangements, the mass of the knife-edge clamp supporting the stick is ignored. Is this an approximation because its mass is small, or is there some reason it makes no contribution at all to the torque? If you think there is some reason that it does not have to be considered, state the reason. 2. Suppose that an experimental arrangement like the one in part 2 has a mass of 200 g suspended at the 10 cm mark and a mass of 100 g suspended at the 75 cm mark. Could the system be put into rotational equilibrium using a 50 g mass? If so, state where it would be placed. If it cannot be done, state why not. 3. In part I of the experiment, what is the value of the force with which the support pushes upward on the metre-stick? Remember that according to theory, rotational equilibrium requires zero net torque regardless of the choice of origin about which the torques are evaluated. Test this in the following way. For the equilibrium conditions established in part IV of the experiment, calculate the counterclockwise and clockwise torques about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the applied forces, through a point at the left end of the metre-stick. Compare the net counter-clockwise torque and the net clockwise torque. Does your result confirm or not confirm the theory?

References 1. Laboratory Manual for PHY 100 & 101 Introductory Physics I and II and PHY 120 & 121 Principles of Physics I and II, 5th Edition 2004, prepared by Jason Diemer, North Island College 2. Laboratory Manual for PHY 060 College Preparatory Physics II, Online Edition 2005-0601, prepared by Dennis Lightfoot and Ron Evans, North Island College

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