General Physics 1

Lab Manual 02

Experiment 2

Title: Vector Addition

Apparatus: ME-9447 Force Table, 3 pulleys and pulley clamps, 3 mass hangers, mass set, string, and protractor

Objective: The purpose of this experiment is to sue the force table to experimentally determine the force which balances two other forces. This result is checked by adding the two forces by using their components and by graphically adding the forces.

Learning outcome: Upon the completion of the experiment, the student will be able to: Determine the force which balance two other forces by experiment, Could check the experiment result with the methods of components and graphically adding.

Procedure: 1. 2. 3. Place the apparatus on a level table. Sketch out the desirable free body diagram (refer figures below). Loosen the turning knob of the pulley bracket. Mount the three pulley bracket on the protractor plate. 4. 5. Set the pulley bracket to desirable angle. Tighten the turning knob. Adjust both of the screws at the side of the bracket. Do not over tighten nor loosen the screws. Make sure the pulley can turn smoothly. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Place the ring to the center of the protractor. Place the three cords to the three pulleys. Place a weight hanger to each of the cord. Place the desirable weights to each of the hanger and observe the movement of the ring. If the rings touch the center rod, this implies that the system is no in equilibrium position.
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11.

Hang the following masses on two of the two pulleys and clamp the given angles: Force A = 50 g at 0 Force B = 100 g at 120

pulleys at the

Result:

Method Experiment: Component: Graphical:

Equilibrant (FE) Magnitude Direction ()

Theory: This experiment finds the resultant of adding two vectors by three methods: experimentally, by components, and graphically.

Experiment Method Two forces are applied on the force table by hanging masses over pulleys positioned at certain angles. Then the angle and mass hung over a third pulley are adjusted until it balances the other two forces. This third force is called equilibrant (FE) since it is the force, which establishes equilibrium. The equilibrium is not the same as the resultant (FR). The resultant is the addition of the two forces. While the equilibrant is equal in magnitude to the resultant, it is in the opposite direction because it balances the resultant (see Figure 1). So the equilibrant is the negative of the resultant:

Figure 1: The Equilibrant Balances the Resultant

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Component Method Two forces are added together by adding the x and y components of the forces. First the two forces are broken into their x and y components using trigonometry:

Where Ax is the x-component of vector FA and x is the unit vector in the x-direction. See Figure 2. To determine the sum of FA and FB, the components are added to get the components of the resultant FR:

To complete the analysis, the resultant force must be in the form of a magnitude and a direction (angle). So the components of the resultant (RX and RY) must be combined using the Pythagoras Theorem since the components are at right angles to each other:

And using trigonometry gives the angle:

Figure 2: Components

Graphical Method Two forces are added together by drawing them to scale using a ruler and protractor. The second force (FB) is drawn with its tail to the head of the first force (FA). The resultant (FR) is drawn from the tail of the FA to the head FB. See Figure 3. Then the magnitude of the resultant can be measured directly from the diagram and converted to the proper force using the chosen angle. The angle can also be measured using the protractor.

Figure 3: Adding Vectors Head to Tail

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Lab Manual 02