Name: ________________ Date of Experiment: __________________

Section: ______________ Date of Submission: ___________________

Formal Lab Report on

Relation of Object’s Force to the Fulcrum of Balancing Act

Abstract:
What makes an object stay balanced? What makes a relationship keep in balance? How
can someone say that he/she is replaced by someone who is near? Having the same size, force
mass, gravity and factor but indeed, proximity matters. This paper tends to discuss the effect of
object’s proximity to the relation of object’s force to the fulcrum. The activity gave us
presentation and analysis on the relation of object’s force to the fulcrum of balancing act.
variable with 9.807 m/s².

Introduction:

In general we use the word

“balanced” to refer to an object that is
upright and not falling over. The technical
term for an object that won’t tip over—even
if it is pushed—is stable. An object that can
be knocked over by a light push or a gentle
puff of wind is unstable. A chair sitting on
the floor on all four legs, for example, is
stable—it’s hard to knock it over. If you try
to balance the chair on one leg, however, it’s
unstable. The moment you let go of the chair
it will probably fall.

Methods:
Results and Discussion:
Table 1. Newton-meter data with different
Following the visual presentation of
Balancing Act, we will be having different variables
trials with different masses and distances of
objects. Here then, gravity is a constant
 position of the force of gravity on an object.
TRI MA FOR DIST Torq
Sometimes it is at the object’s geometric
SS CE AN ue
AL centre (e.g. ruler), whereas other times it
OF CE isn’t (e.g. ruler with an eraser on one end).
An object can be balanced if it’s supported
AN FROM
directly under its centre of gravity.
OBJE THE
CT FULCR It shows that even the object is
heavier, when placed near the fulcrum of a
UM
balancing lever; it will be lighter than the
1 Left 588N 0.5m 294Nm object with lesser weight placed far from the
Arm= fulcrum. On the other hand, if the objects are
placed in the same distance from the
60kg fulcrum, with the same masses the objects
Right 294N 2m 588Nm will be balanced. Another thing is that even
the object has lesser mass when placed far
Arm=
from the fulcrum compared to the object
30kg with greater mass.

2 Left 196N 2m 392Nm

Arm=
20kg
Right 196N 2m
392Nm
Arm=
20kg

3 Left 196N 2m 392Nm

Arm= Figure1.1 Object closer to the fulcrum is

20kg heavier than object farther from the center.
Right 784N 0.5m 392Nm
Following the visual presentation of
Arm= a Balancing Act, the “fulcrum” of the
80kg seesaw is at the point of support. In this
case, it is located at the center of rotation.
The 60kg mass to the left is producing a
torque that is trying to rotate the seesaw in a
Table 1 shows the result of each counter-clockwise direction. By the right
torque with different variables used in an hand rule, this is a positive torque. The
object. The centre of gravity is the average 30kg mass to the right to the right is
producing a torque that is trying to rotate
the seesaw in a clockwise direction. This
is a negative torque. The magnitude of the
torque is either case is equal to the weight
of the mass (m*g) times its moment arm
(distance to the fulcrum, d). Hence these
torque magnitudes are:

Figure 2.1 Objects with the same mass

= (60) (9.8) (0.5m) and distance from the fulcrum.
= 294 Nm
While on the second figure,
following the visual presentation of a
Balancing Act, the “fulcrum” of the seesaw
is at the point of support. In this case, it is
= (30) (9.8) (2m) = 588 located at the center of rotation. The 20kg
Nm mass to the left is producing a torque that is
trying to rotate the seesaw in a counter
clockwise direction. By the right hand rule,
this is a positive torque. The 20kg mass to
the right to the right is producing a torque
that is trying to rotate the seesaw in a
clockwise direction. This is a negative
torque. The magnitude of the torque is
either case is equal to the weight of the
mass (m*g) times its moment arm
(distance to the fulcrum, d). Hence these
torque magnitudes are:
Figure 1.2 The lighter object became
heavier when placed far from the fulcrum.

= (20) (9.8) (2m)

= 392 Nm
 torque. The 80kg mass to the right to the
right is producing a torque that is trying to
rotate the seesaw in a clockwise direction.
= This is a negative torque. The magnitude of
the torque is either case is equal to the
(20) (9.8) (2m)
weight of the mass (m*g) times its moment
= 392 Nm arm (distance to the fulcrum, d). Hence
these torque magnitudes are:

Figure 2.2 Objects with the same mass and

distance from the fulcrum are balanced. Figure 3.1 Objects with different masses and
distances.

= (20) (9.8) (2m)

= 392 Nm
= (20) (9.8) (2m)
= 392 Nm

=
(20) (9.8) (2m)
= 392 Nm =
(80) (9.8) (0.5m) = 392 Nm
On this figure, following the visual
presentation of a Balancing Act, the
“fulcrum” of the seesaw is at the point of
support. In this case, it is located at the
center of rotation. The 20kg mass to the left
is producing a torque that is trying to rotate
the seesaw in a counter-clockwise direction.
By the right hand rule, this is a positive
Figure 3.2 Objects with different masses and https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k
distances are balanced. 12/WindTunnel/Activities/balance_of_force
s.html

Conclusion:

In performing this activity, to identify

the relation of distance of an object from the
fulcrum to the force of an object is to have
different trials with different constant and non
constant variables. Gravity always acts
downward on every object on earth. Gravity
multiplied by the object's mass produces a
force called weight. Although the force of an
object's weight acts downward on every
particle of the object, it is usually considered
to act as a single force through its balance
point, or center of gravity. If the object has its
weight distributed equally throughout, its
balance point is located at its geometric
center. If the object has unequal weight
distribution, its balance point or its center of
gravity may not be at its geometric center. It is
possible for the center of gravity to entirely
outside the boundaries of the object, as does a
boomerang.

References:

Internet Resources:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/
perform-a-scientific-balancing-act/
https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/balancin
g-act/latest/balancing-act_en.html
https://www.studocu.com/en
us/document/university-of-south
alabama/calculus-based-physics
ii/summaries/lab-6-lab-6/1990447/view
https://www.scienceworld.ca/resource/balan
ce-rules/