Center of Mass of Objects

          For this Lab session, we had an experiment about the center of mass of objects.  We were given a meter stick which we used as a beam in a set-up.  The objective of the experiment is to use the balance beam to know the theoretical and experimental weight of a certain object, then we use the center of mass formula to find the mass of the beam used, which was the meter stick.  After we found the theoretical mass of the meter stick, we computed for the percent deviation of error for the mass we acquired experimentally.

          Then we also determined the mass of a certain object, which we used an external drive from Martin's bag.  We were able to experimentally and theoretically acquire the mass of the object.  Then we also had to test the validity of using Center of Mass to determine the mass of regular and irregular objects.

           Overall, our experiment was a success. We were able to acquire the data we need to gather for our technical report and we were able to prove the validity of the center if mass formula for finding the mass of regular or irregular objects.

          "Balance" is really an interesting phenomenon where everything is at equilibrium.  It is important for our daily lives to actually know why something "balanced" does exist.  On this experiment, we were able to answer why systems achieves equilibrium or static equilibrium.

           Now, we should just do our technical paper and we are good to go for another fun experiment!

          Looking forward for more physics fun!

The Different forms of Oscillation

After we have submitted our technical report for the Projectile Motion experiment, we were given another experiment which were consist of 3 different experimental parts. The experiments are to test the harmonic oscillation of an object or a particle. This experiment was kind of difficult for our group because we were the ones to design a set-up to achieve the experimental objectives. Another thing is that, the ways or techniques to be used for finding the periods of oscillations tends to acquire too much human error which makes it difficult to achieve experimental results with low percent error deviation. 

First, let me give you a background of what oscillation is. Oscillation is the repetitive variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples include a swinging pendulum and AC power. The term vibration is sometimes used more narrowly to mean a mechanical oscillation but sometimes is used to be synonymous with "oscillation". Oscillations occur not only in physical systems but also in biological systems and in human society. 

The three variations of oscillation experimented were from three different set-ups as well. The set-ups were; a spring mass system, a simple pendulum, and a physical pendulum. The overall experiment was successful. We got the needed values and data for the period of each set-up. The only thing is, during the process of the experiment, there were times when we were too noisy with stuff due to the materials used like the weights which keeps on falling. Nevertheless, we were able to finish the 3 experiments. 

Looking forward to more fun experiments and Laboratory activities! :)

Projectile Motion

          This lab session was really fun.  We were given objectives for the whole session on Projectile motion.  We used many lab instruments for this lab activity, one of which is the awesome projectile gun!  Our group objective was to compute for the initial velocity of the bullet launched from the projectile gun.  Our group had so many mistakes during the activity.  It was really fun actually.  We always laugh at our mistakes, like for example, when we were measuring the ymax of the bullet, we got a result which we did not expect at all, making us think what we did wrong.  The funny part was we always repeat the process of acquiring the ymax and we keep on getting the same unexpected result until we found out that we were using the wrong angle and we used erasers just to lift the projectile gun with a proper angle. 

         

          We were successful in computing the right initial velocity.  Another exciting part was when we tried our data for precision target shooting and we were right! We got the correct angle and we hit the highest point which was 5. Unfortunately for the second try, we only got 3 points due to our error, which was kinda funny.  We forgot to check if the projectile gun was aligned at the target.  Nevertheless, we had fun and we were satisfied with the results of our lab activity. :)

Looking forward to more fun and exciting physics activities!