Abstract.

Torque is a measure of how much a force is acting on an object causes that object to rotate
and he second condition of equilibrium is simplified as the net torque which is acting on the body is zero.
This could be achieved by equating the sum of all counter clockwise torques to the sum of all clockwise
torques. The objectives of the study are to analyze the systems that are in equilibrium using the second
condition and to distinguish some of the second condition of equilibriums use and significance. In the
three parts of experiment which finds the weight of the pan, force exerted and weight of the beam
respectively, we noticed how torque is affected by the forces acting on the system and their radial
distance from the axis and also, how the rotational equilibrium is applied. We have come up to the
conclusion when second condition of equilibrium is satisfied, there is no angular acceleration and body will
not be moving and will be in rotational equilibrium.

Introduction
Torque is a measure of how much a force is
acting on an object causes that object to
rotate. It is also called as the moment of force.
The object rotates about an axis, which we call
the pivot point. As the force applied increases,
torque also increases. Therefore, torque is
directly proportional with the force applied on the
object. Furthermore, we must note that the force
applied on the object should be perpendicular to
its axis of rotation.

An example would be pushing a door to open it.
The force of your push (F) causes the door to
rotate about its hinges (the pivot point). How
hard you need to push depends on the distance
you are from the hinges (r). The closer you are to
the hinges (the smaller r is), the harder it is to
push. This is what happens when you try to push
open a door on the wrong side. The torque you
created on the door is smaller than it would have
been had you pushed the correct side (away from
its hinges).

Equilibrium simply implies a state of balance. Its
first condition of equilibrium states that the
vector sum of all forces acting on it must be zero.
It is when a body at rest or moving with uniform
velocity has zero acceleration.


Meanwhile, the second condition of equilibrium
states that the net torque acting on the body
should be zero for angular acceleration to be
zero. Thus for a body in equilibrium, the vector
sum of all the torques acting on it about any
arbitrary axis should be zero.


By convention, the sum of all counter clockwise
torques is equated to the sum of all clockwise
torques.

In the first part of the experiment, we are trying
to determine the weight of the pans using the
second condition of equilibrium. By equating the
forces that will make the system rotate clockwise
to the forces that will make the system rotate
counter clockwise, we can derive the formula
needed:

= (

For the second part of the experiment, we are
trying to determine the force needed to be in
equilibrium using the second condition of
equilibrium. By equating the forces that will make
the system rotate clockwise to the forces that will
make the system rotate counter clockwise, we
can derive the formula needed:

= (

)
(

)(

)(

)
(

)


For the third part of the experiment, we are
trying to determine the weight of the beam using
the second condition of equilibrium. By equating
the forces that will make the system rotate
clockwise to the forces that will make the system
rotate counter clockwise, we can derive the
formula needed:

= (

)(

)
(

)



Methodology
For this experiment
which is about
torque: the second
condition of
equilibrium, we
were given a set of
a model balance, a
set of weights, 1
piece of meter stick,
a protractor, 2
pieces of weight
pans, a spring
balance and a
digital weighing
scale.

In the first part of the experiment which is
determining the weights of the pans, we set up
the model balance in a levelled table top and
make sure that the axis of rotation is passing
through the center of gravity of the beam. We
then hang the two pans on the beam. We place a
10 gram (W
1
) weight on the first pan and try to
make a state of equilibrium to the system. We
can know if the state of equilibrium is achieved if
the beam is perfectly horizontal even though
there are unequal masses on the pans and we
can do this by placing the pans on farther and
closer to the axis of rotation. If the state of
equilibrium is now achieved, we now measure the
distance of the two pans from the axis of rotation
and record there as L
1
and L
2
. After measuring,
we now reset the system and place a 5 gram
(W
2
) weight on the second pan making sure that
we remove the 10 gram weight on the earlier
part of the experiment. We again try to create a
state of equilibrium to the system and record the
distances of the pan as L
3
and L
4
. After recording,
we again reset the system and make the second
trial with W
1
as 15 grams and W
2
as 25 grams
and the third trial with W
1
as 30 grams and W
2
as
20 grams with the same procedures as the first
trial. Using the values got, we can compute for
the weight of the pan using the formulas
provided.
For the second
part of the
experiment
which is
determining the
force needed to
be in
equilibrium, we
use the same
set up as the
first part of the
experiment but
now, we will
make use of
the spring
balance. First,
we place 50
grams (W
1
) on
the first pan on
the left side of
the beam and
use the spring balance to achieve the state of
equilibrium. We must make sure that the spring
balance makes an acute angle or an angle that is
less than 90 with the beam that is in horizontal
position. After achieving the state of equilibrium,
we record the reading of the spring balance as
F
measured
. We also measure the angle of inclination
of the spring balance from the beam and the
distance of the pan and the spring balance from
the axis of rotation and mark it as L
1
and L
2

respectively. After which, we can now compute
for the force exerted on the system. For the
second trial of the second part of the experiment,
we still use the same set up of the system but
this time, we now place the spring balance on the
right side of the beam. Afterwards, the same
procedure applies as the first trial of this
experiment. Using the values got, we can
compute for the force applied to the system.

For the third part of the experiment which is
determining the weight of the beam, we now
place the axis of rotation in the other hole
provided. We now hang the first pan on the right
side of the beam and place 50 grams (W
1
) on it
and adjust its position until the state of
equilibrium is acquired. We then measure the
distance of the pan from the new axis of rotation
(L
1
) and the distance of the former axis of
rotation and the new axis of rotation (L
2
). After
which, we now use 60 grams and 70 grams as W
1

for the second and third trials and the same
procedures applies as the first trial. Using the
values got, we can compute for the weight of the
beam using the formulas provided.












Results and Discussion
In conducting the experiment, we had a bit of
trouble in making the system in the state of
equilibrium since the beam is very unstable
especially when weights are added. When our
group have finally achieved the state of
equilibrium, the problem facing us is measuring
the distances of the pans from the axis of
rotation without compromising the state of
equilibrium of the beam. The group also had a bit
of trouble in measuring the angle that the spring
balance makes with the beam in the second part
of the experiment. Finally, the last part of the
experiment is the trickiest of the all parts since
the axis of rotation is not on the center, rather
its just close to the center but the group has
managed to still put it in its state of equilibrium.

In the first part of the experiment, we
determined the weight of the pans using the
second condition of equilibrium. The following is a
sample computation of weight of the pans for the
first trial.

()()() ()()()
()() ()()

()

The table below shows the weights added on the
pans and the distances of the pans from the axis
of rotation.

T W (g)
L1
(cm)
L2
(cm)
L3
(cm)
L4
(cm)
P1
(g)
P2
(g)
1
W
1
= 10
12.5 17.8 23.2 19.5 25.53 24.96
W
2
= 5
2
W
1
= 15
13 20.7 15.5 7.6 24.38 24.73
W
2
= 25
3
W
1
= 30
10.7 23.5 23.9 13.4 25.34 25.19
W
2
= 20
ave. W of P1
25.08g
%diff of P1
1.12%
ave. W of P2
24.96g
%diff of P2
0.64%

With the tabulated results of the experiment, we
can notice that when one side of the beam with a
pan has added weights, the other side of the
beam with a pan without added weights tend to
be father away to balance the system. This is
important since to balance the system, the forces
making the system to rotate clockwise needs to
be equal to the forces that makes the system to
rotate counter clockwise and since torque is
computed by multiplying the force and its
distance from the axis of rotation, the only way
for the other side of the beam to be equal to the
other since that has a greater force, it needs a
greater distance.

In the second part of the experiment, we
determined the force applied needed to be in
equilibrium using the second condition of
equilibrium. The following is a sample
computation of force applied needed to be in
equilibrium for the first trial.

)(

)
(

()()
( ())


The table below shows the force applied needed
to be in equilibrium and the distances of the pans
from the axis of rotation.

Trial
L1
(cm)
L2
(cm)
W1 + P1
(g)
F
computed

(g)
F
measured

(g)
%diff
(%)
1 20.7 9.4 74.8 195.83 200 2.11
2 18.8 9 74.8 203.97 200 1.97

With the tabulated results of the experiment, we
can notice that in the second trial, the side with
the pan and the weights tend to be farther than
the spring balance on the other side. This is
because the pan with weights tends to have less
force compared to the force that the spring
balance applies, so to make the system in
equilibrium, the pan with weights needs to have
a greater distance to make the system
equilibrium. With regards to the first trial when
both pan and spring balance is on the left side,
the spring balance just cancels the force exerted
by the pan with weights which makes the
system, in equilibrium.

In the third part of the experiment, we
determined the weight of the beam using the
second condition of equilibrium. The following is a
sample computation of weight of the beam for
the first trial.

)(

)
(

( )()
()


The table below shows the weights added on the
pans and the distances of the pans from the axis
of rotation.

Trial
L1
(cm)
L2
(cm)
W1 + P1
(g)
W
computed

(g)
W
measured
(g)
1 14.5 8 50 135.58
136.8 2 12.8 8 60 135.46
3 11.9 8 70 141.57

ave. W of beam 137.54g

%diff 0.54%

We can notice that the pan with weights is in
equilibrium with the weight of the beam itself.
With regards to the tabulated results, we can
notice that as we increase the weight added to
the pan, the shorter the distance needed to make
the system in equilibrium. This is notable since
again, the weight of the beam itself (clockwise
motion) which is placed on its center of gravity
needs to be equal in magnitude to the weight of
the pan with weights (counter clockwise motion)
to have equilibrium.

Conclusion
The objectives of the study are to analyze the
systems that are in equilibrium using the second
condition and to distinguish some of the second
condition of equilibriums use and significance. In
this experiment, we saw how torque is affected
by the forces acting on the system and their
radial distance from the axis and also, how the
equilibrium is applied.

In this experiment, second condition of
equilibrium or rotational equilibrium has been
applied in all parts of the experiment. We know
that torque is a measure of how much a force is
acting on an object causes that object to rotate
and that it is the product of the force and its
distance from its axis. In analyzing systems in
rotational equilibrium, we need to equate the
sum of all torques that will make the system
rotate clockwise to sum of all the torques that
will make the system rotate counter clockwise.
We must take note that the torque is directly
proportional (the greater the force, the greater
the torque) to the force applied and that every
force applied in the system may or may not have
equal distance from its axis since when the force
is great, it will need less distance from the axis
and vice versa for it to be a rotational
equilibrium. Therefore, when second condition of
equilibrium is satisfied, there is no angular
acceleration and body will not be moving and will
be in rotational equilibrium.

Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my group mates for a job
well done in performing this experiment.
Although this is our first time to work together
since this is the first time we became classmates,
we still work well and I thank them for that. I
would not have done this experiment by myself

I would also like to thank Facebook and Tumblr
for keeping me entertained while writing this
laboratory report. Because of all the amusing
blogs and games, it kept me awake while I am
writing this laboratory report.

I would also like to thank my brother Joash, for
patiently waiting for his turn to use the computer
while I was writing this report.

And especially, I would like to thank Almighty
God for giving me the knowledge, and the
wisdom I need to write this laboratory report.

References
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torque
[2] http://www.physics.uoguelph.ca/tutorials/
torque/Q.torque.intro.html
[3] http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/
towing/towing-capacity/information/fpte4.htm
[4] http://www.blurtit.com/q700116.html
[5] Young, H., Freedman, R., Ford, L., University
Physics with Modern Physics, 12th Edition, 2008