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Lab03 Vectors Procedure

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18 views

Lab03 Vectors Procedure

Uploaded by

y6xvckz2p6
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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VECTORS EXPERIMENT - PROCEDURE

THEORY
Graphical Vector Addition
Vectors are represented graphically by arrows within a mathematical coordinate system.
The length of a vector’s arrow, when drawn to scale, is directly proportional to the magnitude of
the vector. The “tail” of the arrow connects to the origin of the coordinate system, while the “tip”
of the arrow points in the same direction as the vector itself.
The length scale for drawing vector arrows is arbitrary and is usually selected for
convenience so that the vector diagram will fit nicely on a sheet of graph paper. For this
experiment, we will be set the length scale to 10 cm=1 N . That is, each ten centimeters of a
vector arrow’s length represents one Newton of force. As a scaling factor, in terms of force per
unit length, is 0.1 N /cm. An example of a distance length scale for a map of California can be
seen below in FIGURE 1.
In order to determine the vector summation of ⃗ A+ ⃗
B, we first graphically create a
parallelogram of which ⃗ A and ⃗B are adjacent sides (see FIGURE 2 below). The diagonal of this
parallelogram labeled as the resultant vector⃗ R , or simply the vector sum of ⃗ A+ ⃗
B; or by vector
addition ⃗ R =⃗A +⃗B . The magnitude of this resultant vector is proportional to the length of the
diagonal arrow itself, and the direction of the resultant vector is that of the diagonal arrow. The
direction of ⃗R is specified as being at an angle φ , relative to the positive horizontal axis.
An equivalent method of finding ⃗ R is to place the vectors to be added “tip-to-tail” where
the tip of the vector ⃗A is attached directly to the tail of the vector ⃗
B as seen below in FIGURE 3.
Vector arrows may be “moved” so long as they remain pointed in the same direction. The “tip-
to-tail” method gives the same result as the parallelogram method outlined above.
VECTORS EXPERIMENT - PROCEDURE

FIGURE 1 – A map of the different counties within California with the distance between
the cities of San Francisco and San Diego explicitly drawn. The scaling factor at the bottom
gives the measured distance its proper context.

⃗
Copy of a

⃗
Copy of b

FIGURE 2 – The black colored vectors a ⃗ and b⃗ are used to create the
four sides of a parallelogram, such that the resultant vector becomes the
red diagonal of the parallelogram.
VECTORS EXPERIMENT - PROCEDURE

FIGURE 3 - Vectors ⃗ A and ⃗B are joined end-to-end such that the


resultant vector ⃗R is given by the straight red line connecting together
starting and ending points, as illustrated above.

PROCEDURE
1. Level the force table along two perpendicular axes.
2. For the first scenario, complete the following steps:
 Move one pulley to an angle of 0 ° .
o Pull one string over this pulley.
o Attach a 100 gram mass onto this string.
 Move a second pulley to an angle of 90 ° .
o Pull a second string over this pulley.
o Attach a 100 gram mass onto this string.
 With your hand, grab a third string.
 Move this string around the force table, and pull on the string, until the clear disk is in
equilibrium.
o Record the angle of this string’s location.
 Attach a third pulley at the angle to this string’s location.
 Hang the third string over the pulley.
 Add sufficient mass onto the third string such that the clear disk is in equilibrium.
o Record its actual mass.
 Verify that all three strings are parallel to the surface of the force table.
3. For the second scenario, repeat the previous steps with these two new vectors:
 Move one pulley to an angle of 40. ° .
o Pull one string over this pulley.
o Attach 50 grams of mass onto this string.
 Move a second pulley to an angle of 160. °.
o Pull one string over this pulley.
VECTORS EXPERIMENT - PROCEDURE

o Attach 100 grams of mass onto this string.


4. For the third scenario, repeat the previous steps with these two new vectors:
 Move one pulley to an angle of 45 ° .
o Pull one string over this pulley.
o Attach 50 grams mass onto this string.
 Move a second pulley to an angle of 305 ° .
o Pull a second string over this pulley.
o Attach 150 grams mass onto this string.
5. On a sheet of graph paper, using the scaling factor of 0.1 N /cm, draw the tip-to-tail vector
addition of the following two vectors:
 Vector ⃗ A
o Mass of 100 g at an angle of 0 °
 Vector ⃗ B
o Mass of 100 g at an angle of 90 °
6. Draw all three vectors with different colored pencils.
7. Label all three vectors and the two axes.
8. Measure the length of the resultant vector.
9. Measure the resultant vector’s angle.
10. On a different sheet of graph paper, using the scaling factor of 0.1 N /cm, draw the
parallelogram vector addition of the following two vectors:
 Vector ⃗ A
o Mass of 50 g at an angle of 40 °
 Vector ⃗ B
o Mass of 100 g at an angle of 160 °
11. Draw all vectors with different colored pencils.
12. Label all three vectors and the two axes.
13. Measure the length of the resultant vector.
14. Measure the resultant vector’s angle.
15. On a different sheet of graph paper, using the scaling factor of 0.1 N /cm, draw the tip-to-tail
vector addition of the following three vectors:
 Vector ⃗ A
o Mass of 50 g at an angle of 45 °
 Vector ⃗ B
o Mass of 150 g at angle of 305 °
16. Draw all vectors with different colored pencils.
17. Label all three vectors and the two axes.
18. Measure the length of the resultant vector.
19. Measure the resultant vector’s angle.
VECTORS EXPERIMENT - PROCEDURE

DATA ANALYSIS

 For the first scenario show the following calculations:


1) Force Table
o Resultant Force Vector
 Magnitude
 Magnitude Percent Uncertainty
2) Vector Diagram
o Resultant Force Vector
 Conversion of the Measured Length into a Vector Magnitude
 Vector Magnitude Percent Uncertainty

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