Analysis

Physics has always been known as a study of the motions of objects. Physics
has something to do with the change of rate that causes an object to move from one
position to another. The reason as to why the object moves is the constant
interaction of that object with another one, which is commonly known as force.
Force is present because there is a constant interaction between two objects; if the
interaction disappears, force will be no longer experienced by the objects. When
one object exerts a force on another object it always experiences an equal opposing
force in return from the object it exerted the force on. One good example to further
explain what force is would be two groups of players pulling with enough force
with the rope in a tug of war game.

Force is an example of a vector quantity. Vector quantity is a type of

quantity that has both magnitude and direction. To understand and completely
describe the force acting upon the object, the magnitude and the direction of the
object should be present. A single 12 Newton cannot be considered as a complete
description of the force acting upon a certain object. An example of the considered
vector quantity is 12 Newton downward. Newton is the standard unit for measuring
force. It is abbreviated by the letter “N”. A 13.00 N is equivalent to a 13.00
Newton of force. The required amount of force is one newton to give a 1 kg mass
an acceleration of 1 m/s2. The simplest way to represent force using diagrams,
arrow should be used. The magnitude of the force is reflected on the size of arrow
while the direction where the force is acting is reflected on the direction of the
arrow. Furthermore, because forces are vectors, the effect of an individual force
upon an object is often cancelled by the effect of another force. For example, the
effect of a 20-Newton upward force acting upon a book is cancelled by the effect
of a 20-Newton downward force acting upon the book. In simple words, the two
individual forces balance each other.

Two of the systems of forces are concurrent and non-concurrent forces.

Concurrent forces are two or more forces whose lines of action intersect at the
same point to cause rotation. A good example of concurrent forces is when two
people stand the ends of a rope and pull on it. The forces are concurrent because
the effect of the forces will intersect at the same point. Non-concurrent forces are
two or more forces whose magnitudes are equal but act in opposite directions with
a common line of action. One example of non-concurrent is when a person driving
his hands opposite to each other in the steering wheel. The forces that the person
apply with both hands when turning either left or right cause it to turn. Both hands
are involved in turning the wheel; one hand pushes while the other pulls. The
experiment that the class completed is a good example of a concurrent force. The
concurrent force was evident on the ring pulled by the four strings with loads.

The objectives of the first experiment entitled Resolution of Forces that the
class did was to determine the resultant force of concurrent forces using the
Graphical and Analytical method. Also, determining the first condition of
equilibrium and its implication was part of the objectives. Another one would be
to differentiate scalar from vector quantities and compare resultant from
equilibrant. The professor also emphasized for the groups to determine the mass
and angle of the fourth hanger given the three first mas and angle of the hangers.
The vector that balances a resultant is called the equilibrant, which is equal in
magnitude with the resultant but oppositely directed. Equilibrium is a state of
balance. When equilibrium is at rest, it is a static equilibrium. The first condition of
equilibrium states that the sum of all forces acting on a body or system is zero.
 As stated above, one of the objectives of the experiment is to determine the
resultant force using the Graphical and Analytical method. Graphical method
requires accuracy in sketching the lines. One wrong line would affect all of the
procedures. This method should be carefully observed; the experimenter should
use a ruler and protractor for the measurements to be accurate and correct. In
connection to the objective, one wrong measurement in using this method would
not give them the accurate resultant that they need because the resultant is
dependent on the length of arrow obtained in the graph. The graphical method can
be divided into two methods: parallelogram and polygon methods.

Parallelogram method is commonly used in adding two forces. It is also

known as the head-to-tail method. The resultant will be determined by placing the
tail of B so that it meets the tail of A. As shown in Figure 1, the vector sum, A + B,
extends from the tails of A and B across the diagonal to the opposite corner of the
parallelogram. If the vectors are perpendicular and unequal in magnitude, the
parallelogram will be a rectangle. If the vectors are perpendicular and equal in
magnitude, the parallelogram will be a square.

Figure 1

Another method is the polygon method which is commonly used in adding

more than two forces. It is also known as the extension of triangle law of vector
addition. It state that if a number of vectors can be represented by the side of the
polygon in magnitude and direction taken in order, then their resultant is
represented by the side which close the polygon taken in the opposite order. Figure
2 shows a good way to further explain the polygon method.

Figure 2

Another part of the objective is to determine the resultant using analytical

method. Under the analytical method are sine and cosine law and component
method which creates a more accurate result. Using the component method,many
formulas can be used. To get the resultant, the formula below should be used.

∑ 𝐹𝑥 = 𝐹1𝑥 + 𝐹2𝑥 + 𝐹3𝑥 … + 𝐹𝑛𝑥

𝑅 = √(∑ 𝐹𝑥 )2 + (∑ 𝐹𝑦 )2

∑ 𝐹𝑦
 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 ( )
∑ 𝐹𝑥
 Force is an example of a vector quantity. It has a tendency to produce
translation when it is applied to a rigid body. This means there will be a movement
in a straight line. When the equilibrant was identified, the ring in the middle did
not experience a change in motion anymore. This means that it reached its state of
equilibrium.

The materials needed for the experiments were a piece of force table, four
pieces of super pulley with clamp, four pieces of mass hanger, a set of slotted
mass, and a piece of protractor. Aside from the objectives and the materials, the
class was also given some equipment care and some guidelines on how to do the
experiment with nothing would be broken. One of these notes is to take extra care
of the supper pulley to avoid damages. Another one would be to use reasonable
mass on the hanger.

The Experiment 101: Resolution of Force was divided into 7 parts for the
group to complete and achieve the objectives given. The first procedure was to
assemble the system using the four pulleys at the force table. Given three mass and
angles, the group were to find the mass and the angle of the fourth hanger. In Table
1, you can see the first three mas and angles of the hangers for Trial 1.

MASS ANGLE
𝑚1 = 70𝑔 𝜃1 = 0°
𝑚2 = 30𝑔 𝜃2 = 60°
𝑚3 = 20𝑔 𝜃3 = 320°
Table 1
 The third procedure is by trial and error; the group adjust the angel and vary
the load of the fourth hanger to put the ring in the middle. In Figure 3, you can see
a force with four chains attached to the centre ring. These chains have different
forces with different directions. The group was able to determine the fourth mass
and angle for the ring to be at the center. The fourth mass and angle were 101.1 g
and 188°.

Figure 3

The fourth procedure is to check whether the ring returns to the center even
after pulling the string to one side and release the string. If it returns to the center
the group should proceed to the next procedure, otherwise they should go back to
the third procedure and adjust the string so that the ring goes to the center of the
force table. The fifth procedure is to record the mass on each string and their
respective angles after getting the ring be at the center of the force table. In Table
2, the completed records together with the last string are shown.
 MASS ANGLE
𝑚1 = 70𝑔 𝜃1 = 0°
𝑚2 = 30𝑔 𝜃2 = 60°
𝑚3 = 20𝑔 𝜃3 = 320°
𝑚4 = 101.1𝑔 𝜃3 = 188°
Table 2

Figure 4 shows the first trial of the experiment wherein the value of the
fourth mass is 101 grams and its angle is 188 degrees. As shown in Table 2, using
the Polygon Method, the Resultant is equal to 101g while the angle is 188°. The
Polygon Method’s percentage error for the Resultant is 0.10% while for the Angle
is 0.00%. As shown in Table 2, using the Component Method, the Resultant is
equal to 101.18g while the angle is 187.46°. The percentage error for the
Component Method for the Resultant is 0.08% while for the Angle is 0.29%.

After finishing the trial 1, the group did the same procedures but with
different mass and angles given. The objectives are the same for Trial 1 and Trial
2. In Table 3, the values for the trial 2 are shown. After doing the trial 2, the group
was able to determine the mass and angle of the fourth string in the force table as
shown in Figure 4. In Table 4, the completed records together with the last string
are shown.

MASS ANGLE
𝑚1 = 50𝑔 𝜃1 = 15°
𝑚2 = 60𝑔 𝜃2 = 70°
𝑚3 = 30𝑔 𝜃3 = 330°
Table 3
Figure 4

MASS ANGLE
𝑚1 = 50𝑔 𝜃1 = 15°
𝑚2 = 60𝑔 𝜃2 = 70°
𝑚3 = 30𝑔 𝜃3 = 330°
𝑚4 = 109.9𝑔 𝜃3 = 210°
Table 4

In trial 2, as shown in Figure 4, the value of the fourth mass is 109.9 grams
and its angle is 210 degrees. As shown in Table 4, using the Polygon Method, the
Resultant is equal to 109g while the angle is 212°. The Polygon Method’s
percentage error for the Resultant is 0.82% while for the Angle is 0.95%. As
shown in Table 4, using the Component Method, the Resultant is equal to 109.26
grams while the angle is 209.81°. The Component Method’s percentage error for
the Resultant is 0.58% while for the Angle is 0.09%.
Conclusion:

Force is one good example to further understand vectors. Force is present

because there is a constant interaction between two objects; if the interaction
disappears, force will be no longer experienced by the objects.

As the experiment finished, the members were able to obtain the objectives.
The required resultant was obtained by the members. In connection with the
resultant, the result obtained in opposite direction to the equilibrant but they still
have the same magnitude. In the experiment, the ring is important to be at the
center of the force table because each mass could affect the result of the
equilibrium. With the experiment, we learned that there are many possible
solutions or ways in getting the net force. One would be the component method
under analytical method which would give you a more accurate result. Another one
is polygon method which requires accurate measurement for you to get an accurate
result. With the help of ruler and protractor, the required resultant would be shown
by drawing the point that were give. If I were to choose between the two methods,
I would choose component method which is more accurate than the polygon.
Polygon method would be a good choice as well but it is time consuming and you
could get the wrong result if there is one wrong measurement.

In doing the experiment, it would be good for the future experimenter to be

aware of each mass and its effect on the force table. In doing the first trial, the
group had the hard time in estimating the mass and angle that will make the ring be
at the center of the force table. I would also recommend the future experimenter to
have an advance reading regarding the experiment for them to know what to do
beforehand.
Name: LAVADIA, Ma. Anne Lyn B.

Experiment: E101 Resolution of Forces

Presentation

Graphs and Figures

Data Sheet and Sample

Computation

Answers to Question

Interpretation of Results

Conclusion

Total Score
Name: SAKILAN, Anizza

Experiment: E101 Resolution of Forces

Presentation

Graphs and Figures

Data Sheet and Sample

Computation

Answers to Question

Interpretation of Results

Conclusion

Total Score