Title

TorquesandRotationalEquilibrium
Abstract
Rotationalequilibriumiswhenthenettorqueactingonasystemisequaltozero.Inthis
labrotationalequilibriumwillbeestablishedinmultipleexperimentalscenarios.Thiswasdone
usingameterstickwithmassessuspendedfromitatvariouspositions.Thepositionsofthe
massesandthepivotpointwerealteredinordertomaintainrotationalequilibrium.The
clockwiseandcounterclockwisetorqueswerecalculatedforeachofthesescenarios.By
calculatingthepercentdifferencebetweenthesevaluesitwasdeterminedthatthesystemswere
inrotationalequilibrium.Possiblesourcesoferrorwerenonuniformlydistributedmassinthe
meterstick,anddifferencesfromtheaveragemassinthehangers.Thelabtaughttheconcepts
oftorques,androtationalequilibrium.
Introduction
Equilibriumisagoalofthebuildersofmanydifferentstructures.Inphysicsanobjectis
saidtobeinmechanicalequilibriumifitisinastateoftransitionalandrotationalequilibrium.
Forasystemtobeintransitionalequilibriumthesumoftheforcesactingonthesystem,inall
planes,mustbeequaltozero.Thisisexpressedmathematicallyinthefollowingequations.
F x = 0
F y = 0
F z = 0
Inthislabrotationalequilibriumwillbeexamined.Forrotationalequilibriumthesummationof
allofthetorquesmustequalzero.Thisisexpressedmathematicallyinthefollowingequation.

 = 0
Torquesareameasureoftherotationalforcethatanobjecthasaboutapivotpoint.Theyare
calculatedbymultiplyingtheforcebythedistancefromtheforcetothepointofrotation.The
equationforcalculatingtorquesisthefollowingequation.
= F rsin
Thismeansthatalargerforcewillcausegreaterrotationthanasmallerforcethatisappliedtoan
objectthatisfreetopivotaboutapoint.Also,aforceappliedfarfromthepivotpointwillcause
greaterrotationthanaforceappliedclosertothepivotpoint.
Inthislabameterstickwillbebalancedonasupportstand.Weightswillthenbeadded
tothemeterstick.Theseweightswillcreateforcesandtorquesonoppositesidesofthemeter
stick.Also,forceswillbeappliedthatcausethemetersticktobecomeunbalanced.Inthese
situationsthemeterstickwillbemovedsothatthepivotpointchangestokeeptheruler
balanced.Itishypothesizedthatinallofthesituationstestedrotationalequilibriumwillbe
maintained.Thisisbecausethemeterstickwillremainbalancedsothenettorqueswillhaveto
equalzero.
Thislabwillteachtheconceptsofrotationalequilibriumandtorques.Itwillincrease
understandingoftheprincipalsofrotationalequilibriumbecausevariousrotationalequilibrium
scenarioswillbetested.Itwillalsoprovidepracticeforcalculatingthenettorquesactingona
system,andcalculatingandidentifyingclockwiseandcounterclockwisetorques.
Methods
Tobeginthelabthemassofameterstickandaknifeclampwasdetermined.Themeter
stickwasthenbalancedonasupportstand.Themassofthreeknifeclampswithhangerswas

determined,andtheaveragemassofaknifeclampandhangerwasdetermined.A100gmass
wasthenhungonthe15cmmarkofthemeterstickusingahanger.A200gmasswasthen
hungontheotherendatapointwherethemeterstickwasonceagainbalanced.Thevaluesof
thedistancesandtheleverarmslengthsweredeterminedandrecorded.Thesetupresembledthe
followingdiagram,wherethebluemassis100g,andtheredmassis200g.

Inthenextconditiona100gmasswassuspendedatthe30cmpositiononthemeter
stick,a200gmasswassuspendedatthe70cmpositionofthemeterstick,anda50gmasswas
suspendedatapointthatallowedthemetersticktoonceagainbecomebalanced.Theposition
ofthe50gmasswasdetermined,andthelengthsoftheleverarmsforeachmasswere
determined.Thesevalueswererecorded.Thesituationresembledthefollowingdiagramwhere
thebluemassis100g,theredmassis200g,andthegreenmassis50g.

Inthenextconditionanunknownmasswassuspendedatthe10cmpositiononthemeter
stick,anda200gmasswassuspendedatapositionthatallowedthemetersticktobecome
balancedagain.Thepositionofthe200gmasswasdetermined,andthedistanceofthelever
armsweredetermined.Thesevalueswererecorded,andthemassoftheunknownweightwas
determined.Thesituationresembledthefollowingdiagramwheretheredmassis200g,andthe
purplemassistheunknownmass.


Inthenextconditiona100gmasswassupportednearthezeropointonthemeterstick.
Themeterstickwasthenmovedtoapositionwhereitbalanced.Thevalueofthenewcenterof
gravitywasrecorded,andthelengthsoftheleverarmswererecorded.Thetorquewasfirst
calculatedusingthemassoftheentiremeterstickastheforcecausingtheclockwiserotation.
Themasswasthendividedbytheonehundredcentimeterstofindthepercentimetermass.By
multiplyingthedistanceoneachside,twonewforceswerefound.Theclockwisetorquewas
causedbythenewmassofthelargesidewithnosuspendedmass.Thecounterclockwisetorque
wascausedbythemassofthemeterstickonthatsideofthepivotpoint,andthemassofthe100
gweight.Thismethodofdividingthemassofauniformobjectslengthisthesamewaytofind
themassofasmallunitofanyuniformobject,suchasaonemeterlongmetalbar.Thesituation
resembledthefollowingdiagramwheretheblueweightrepresentsthe100gweight.

Inthenextconditiona100gmasswassuspendednearthezeropointofthemeterstick.
Another100gmasswassuspendedatthe60cmpositionofthemeterstick.Themeterstickwas
thenadjusteduntilitbalancedagain.Thenewpivotpointwasnowthecenterofgravity.The
newcenterofgravitywasdetermined,andthelengthsoftheleverarmsweredetermined.These
valueswererecorded.Thisresembledthefollowingdiagramwherethebluemassesrepresent
100gmasses.

Thisprocedurewasrepeatedforamasssuspendedat70cm.Itresembledthefollowingdiagram
wherethebluemassesrepresent100g.

Thisprocedurewasrepeatedforamasssuspendedat90cm.Beforethiswasdonetheposition
ofthepivotpointwasestimated.Afterthepivotpointwasfoundthetorqueswerecalculated.
Thesituationresembledthefollowingdiagramwherethebluemassesrepresent100gmasses.

Results
Itwasfoundthatinmostofthesituationsitwasclearthatthemeterstickwasin
rotationalequilibrium.Thisisbecausethevaluesfortheclockwiseandcounterclockwise
torqueswereverycloseineachallbuttwooftheconditions.Inoneoftheconditionswherethe
valueswerenotveryclosetheywerestillmoderately,close.Intheotherconditiontheyarenot
close.Inalloftheconditionstheclockwisetorque (cw ) wascalculatedbyaddingthetorques
duetoalloftheforcesactingonthelefthandsideofthepivotpoint.Thecounterclockwise
torque (cc ) wascalculatedbyaddingthetorquesduetoalloftheforcesactingontherighthand
sideonthepivotpoint.Thesewerecalculatedusingthetorqueequationgiveninthe
introduction.
Inallofthecasesthemassofthemeterstickanditssupportingknifeclampwasfoundto
be104.67grams.Theoriginalcenterofgravitywasfoundtobe49.76cm.Thetotalmassofthe

otherthreeclampsandhangerswasfoundtobe58.49grams.Thisgaveanaveragemassof
19.50grams.Thismassisaddedintoallofthemassesforthepurposesofcalculation.
Thevaluesfoundinthefirstcaseareshowninthefollowingtable.

Masses

Positions

Leverarms

Torques

=119.5g
1
m

=
219.5g
2

=15cm
1
x

=
69.29cm
2

=34.76cm
1
r

=
19.53cm
2

=.4071N*m
cc

=
.4201N*m
cw

Percent
Difference
3.14%

Thevalueforpercentdifferencewascalculatedusingthefollowingformula.
P ercentDif f erence =

AbsoluteDifference
100%
Average

E 2 E 1
100%
(E 2 +E 1 )/2

Thefactthatthepercentdifferencewaslowindicatesthatthetorquesarerelativelyequal.
Becausethetorqueswereinoppositedirections,andequal,thesystemwasinrotational
equilibrium.
Thevaluesfoundinthesecondcaseareshowninthefollowingtable.
Percent
Difference
m

=119.5g
x

=30cm
r

=.1976cm

=.4216N*m
3.22%
1
1
1
cc
m

=219.5g
x

=70cm
r

=.2024cm

=.4354N*m

2
2
2
cw
m

6
9.5g
x

2
1.83cm
r

.
2793cm

3
3
3
Thefactthatthepercentdifferencewaslowindicatesthatthetorquesarerelativelyequal.
Masses

Positions

Leverarms

Torques

Becausethetorqueswereinoppositedirections,andequal,thesystemwasinrotational
equilibrium.
Thevaluesfoundinthethirdcaseareshowninthefollowingtable.

Masses

Positions

Leverarms

=Unknown
1

=10cm
1

=39.76cm
1

=
219.5g
2

=
59.07cm
2

=
9.31cm
2

Mass1
Measured
=29.78g
Calculated
=
31.91g

PercentError
6.91%

Inthiscasethevalueofanunknownmasswascalculatedusingthesystemcreated.Todothisit
wasassumedthatthesystemwasinrotationalequilibrium.Thenthefollowingderivationofthe
formulaforrotationalequilibriumwasusedtofindingthemassoftheunknownobject.
m1 gr1 = m2 gr2
Afterthevalueof m1 wasfound19.50gramswassubtractedfromthevaluetoreflectthe
averagemassofthehangerthatwassupportingtheunknownmass.Thepercentdifference
betweenthemasscalculatedandmassmeasuredwassmall.Thisshowedthatthesystemwasa
fairlyaccuratemeansofmeasuringthemass,andthatthesystemwaslikelyinrotational
equilibrium.
Thevaluesforthefourthcaseareshowninthefollowingtable.

Masses

Positions

Leverarms

Torques

=119.5g
1
m

=104.67g
2

=.16cm
1
x

=79.32cm
2

=
20.68cm
0

=20.52cm
1
r

=39.66cm
2

=.2403N*m
cc

=.4068N*m
cw

Percent
Difference
51.46%

Inthiscasethesecondmasswasthetotalmassofthemeterstick.Thisgavevaluesthatwerenot

trueforthemassesofthesides,whichisshownbythelargepercentdifferences.Toreconcile
thisdifferencethemassofthemeterstickwasdividedby100cmtogiveapercentimeter
readingofmass.Usingthisdatathefollowingtableandtorqueswerecalculated.
Masses

Positions

Leverarms

Torques

=119.5g
1
m

=83.02g
2
m

=21..65g
3

=.16cm
1
x

=79.32cm
2
x

=20.68cm
3

=
20.68cm
0

=20.52cm
1
r

=39.66cm
2
r

=10.34cm
3

=.2622N*m
cc

=.3227N*m
cw

Percent
Difference
20.69%

Oncethemassofthemeterstickisconsideredthevalueofthepercentdifferenceisgreatly
reduced.Thisshowsthatthemassofthemeterstickoneachsideisimportantinrotational
equilibrium.
Thevaluesforthefinalcaseareshowninthefollowingtable.
Case6
Diagram
InMethods

Diagram

InMethods

Diagram

InMethods

Percent
Difference

Masses

Positions

Leverarms

=119.5g
1

=.16cm
1

34.75cm

=
34.59cm
1

=119.5g
2
Masses

=60cm
2
Positions

x
0

=
25.25cm
2
Leverarms

=119.5g
1

=.16cm
1

38.32cm

=
38.16cm
1

=119.5g
2
Masses

=70cm
2
Positions

x
0

=
31.68cm
2
Torques

=119.5g
1

=.16cm
1

Predicted
=46.14cm

=.5313N*m
cc

=119.5g
2

=90cm
2

Measured
=45.53cm

=.5208N*m
cw

1.33%

2.00%

Inthisconditionthepredictedvaluewasdeterminedusingthedifferenceintheprevioustwo

values.Thedifferencebetweenthetorquesisverysmall,whichshowsthatthesystemisin
rotationalequilibrium.
Discussion
Itwasfoundthatinallscenariostherewasrotationalequilibrium.Thisisbecausethe
valueofthepercentdifferencebetweentheconditionsislow.Thefourthcaseisnotconsidered
inthisstatementbecauseitdoesnotaccountforthedistributionofthemassofthemeterstick.
Afterthedistributionofthemassisconsideredthepercentdifferencebetweenthetorquesis
reduced.Theforcesareconservedinthefirstthreecasesbecausetheforceofthemassesis
actingonthesupportpiece.Thatpieceappliesanormalforcebackonthemeterstick.This
forceisintheoppositedirectionoftheforceofgravitycausedbythemasses.Thereforewhen
theforcesareaddedthenetforceactingonthesystemiszero.
Thedatacollectedfromcasethreeisindicativeofhowatriplebeambalanceworks.A
triplebeambalanceworksbymovingsetmassesalongthebeams,awayfromthepivotpoint.
Ontheothersideofthepivotpointisthesubstancebeingweighed.Bymovingthemassthe
torquesarechangesbecausethelengthoftheleaverarmischanged.Oncethebeamisbalanced
rotationalequilibriumhasbeenreached.Atthispointthetorquesactingoneachsideofthepivot
pointareequal,andthemassofthesubstancecanbedeterminedbyreadingthevaluesfromthe
beams.
Sometimesrotationalequilibriumcannotbereachedforaparticularscenario.Onesuch
scenariowouldbeifa200gmasswassuspendedatthe20cmposition,anda100gmasswas
suspendedatthe65cmposition.Iftheonlywaytopushthesystemtorotationalequilibrium
waswiththeuseofa50gmass,rotationalequilibriumcouldnotbereached.Thisisbecausethe

50gmasswouldhavetobe68cmfromthepivotpoint,whichisanimpossibilityconsidering
thatthedistanceoneachsideofthepivotpointisapproximately50cm.Tofixthisproblemthe
positionofthemasseswouldhavetobeswitchedandthe50gmasswouldhavetobepositioned
3cmfromthepivotpointonthesidewiththe200gmass.
Somepossiblesourcesoferrorinthisexperimentincludeanonuniformlydistributed
massofthemeterstick,andthepossibilityforanomalyinthemassesofthehangers.Oftenthe
pivotpointofameterstickisnotatthe50cmposition.Thisisbecausethemeterstickismade
ofnaturalwood,sothemassisnotevenlydistributedacrossthemeterstick.Apossiblemethod
ofreconcilingthenoncenteredpivotpointistofindthemasspercentimeter,andaddthetorque
duetothemassofthemeterstickoneachsideofthepivotpointtothenettorques.Thisdoes
notfixtheproblemallthewaythough,becauseitstillfailstocompensatefortheareasofhigher
andlowerdensityinthewood.Theotherpossiblesourceoferroristhatthemassofthehangers
usedincalculationswastheaveragemassofthehangers.Thisassumesthatallofthehangers
areofequalmass,whichisunlikely.Ifthemassofeachwasfoundseparately,andused
separatelyinthecalculations,someerrorcouldbereduced.
Conclusion
Thislabtaughttheconceptsofrotationalequilibriumandtorques.Itincreased
understandingoftheprincipalsofrotationalequilibriumthroughthecalculationofrotational
equilibriuminnumerousexperimentalscenarios.Italsoprovidedpracticeforcalculatingthenet
torquesactingonasystem,andcalculatingandidentifyingclockwiseandcounterclockwise
torques.Thiswasaccomplishedthroughcalculatingandidentifyingthesevaluesinmultiple
scenariostestedinthelab.