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Force and motion

Force and Motion

Set-up for Experiment D

Set-up of the Force Machine for Experiment D

  1. Unbend two of the clips to make “C” shaped hooks. Hang one of these clips at 4 ″ from the fixed pivot ( i.e., at the 6 ″ mark, because the fixed pivot is at 2 ″).
  2. Hang the other clip at 8 ″ from the fixed pivot ( i.e., at the 10 ″ mark).
  3. Now hang four clips on the clip attached at 4” from the fixed pivot. Notice how far this pulls the lever down. In this experiment, students will find how many clips are needed at 8” from the fixed pivot to lower the lever arm to the same point as a specified number of clips (in this example, 4 clips) at 4” from the fixed pivot. Have them find how many clips are needed at 8" from the fixed pivot.
  4. Discuss how they knew that the lever had gone to the same point with the clips at 8” that it previously had with 4 clips at 4” from the fixed pivot.
  5. Introduce the stand and link, on which a marker may be placed to mark the position of the lever arm, thus making accurate measurement possible.
  6. Review the data sheet for Experiment D. Emphasize that the marker needs to be reset for each of the trials.