23 February 2015- Inertia Balance Lab

Lab 1: Inertia Balance

Purpose- In class we used a known mass and c- clamp to measure the period of an inertia balance, as we added weight(kg) to see how it affected the period(t) of the inertia balance. We found that they mathematically share a relationship within the graphs and will use the data from logger pro to prove that the data matches a power law equation which best fit the curve of the graph as we analyzed on logger pro.

Materials: Inertia balance, masses 0-800g, eraser, calculator, c-clamp,LabPro, and Photogate.




Procedure: The first part of the procedure was to set up the c-clamp stand and the inertia balance so we could use a photo-gate as a motion detector. This helps keeping track of the period by picking up light rays as the pendulum goes through its complete oscillation the flashing red light on the photo-gate acts as the sensor  showing the time it takes for it to go back forth( one cycle). We did this eight times adding 100 g masses for every new trail we did. After recording the data from logger pro we decided to also find a curve fit to see how we would go about solving the equation of the inertia balance with increasing masses. We found that a power law equation fit best. We recorded the data of the inertia balances period(seconds) with respect to the mass(0-800g).

There are also two random objects we found and measured there masses. These two masses we ended up solving for there periods as if they were in our graphs by using the power law equation which fit our graph almost perfectly. By finding there periods we can analyze our data and see if they match up.

 This photo above shows all the work we did in order to find the time of calculator and the eraser.
Equation: lnt= nln(mass+Mtray) + lna
T for the period was equal too T= A(low/high)(m+Mtray(low/high))^n(low/high)
The low is representational to the lowest period with the lowest mass and high is the highest period with the heaviest mass. We solved for the slope of the equations first so we could find there periods. After doing so we used the period to estimate the lowest and highest possible masses they could be. by doing this we were able to later analyze our data and find that we had an error.

Data: All in all our data table worked out nice but there was an error in calculations due to the fact the we were probably not being consistent with the amount of strength we used on the inertia balance or a miscalculation done by the computer. By working out the answersby hand of two random masses we were able to compare it with the data from picture 2 (chart) which showed that our masses did not fit into the correct period.

Final Thoughts: We found the relationship between masses and its period depend highly on the amount of mass you use. The more you use the longer the period of the object will take in order to complete a full oscillation. We mathematically solved an equation that roughly calculated the mass of an object with respect to its period.