PHYSICS LABORATORY REPORT

SIMPLE MACHINES

NAMA
123456789 (NIM)

BINUS-ASO SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

AUTOMOTIVE AND ROBOTICS ENGINEERING
DD/MM/YYYY
 EXPERIMENT
SIMPLE MACHINES

I. OBJECTIVE
At the end of this topic students can understand and explain:
 Simple machines – The Lever
 Simple machines – The Inclined plane
 Simple machines – The Pulley

II. INTRODUCTION
Simple Machines – The Lever
The workings of a lever can be understood using the concept of torque. When the torque
produced by the applied force (called the “effort”) becomes greater than the torque of the
object being lifted (called the “load”), the lever will rotate about its pivot point
(sometimes called the “fulcrum”), raising the load. However, levers can also be
explained in terms of work and the conservation of energy.

In physics, the precise mathematical definition of work is the force applied to an object
multiplied by the distance over when that force acts, or W = Fd where W is the work, F
is the applied force, and d is the displacement of the object in the direction of the force.
(If a force is applied to an object, but the object does not move in the direction of the
force, then, technically, no work is done.) Whenever work is done on an isolated system,
the energy of the system will change by exactly the amount of work that was performed,
or ΔE = W where ΔE is the change of energy.

In this experiment, you will apply a measurable amount of work to a lever and observe
the change in the gravitational potential energy of the load.

Figure 1: Lever
Simple Machines – The Inclined Plane
The inclined plane, like the lever, is often used to help raise heavy objects. In a previous
experiment, you analysed this use of the inclined plane in terms of the forces that are
involved. In this experiment you will take a second look at the inclined plane, using the
concepts of work and conservation of energy as you applied them in previous
experiments.

The work to lift an object with a weight, W, is the product of the weight and the height.
To push the same object up the inclined plane requires a smaller force, W sin θ, than the
object’s weight, but the distance over which the force acts is longer. The angle θ is the
incline of the plane.

Figure 2: Inclined plane

Simple Machines – The Pulley

In previous experiments, you used pulleys to change the direction of applied forces.
However, systems of pulleys can be arranged to translate relatively small applied forces
into much larger forces, much the same way as a lever or inclined plane. In this
experiment you will take a second look at pulleys and investigate how systems of pulleys
can be used to amplify the applied force as work is done.

In an ideal pulley system there would be not friction in the pulleys. For example, the
applied force would be transferred completely to the hanging mass.

As with the lever and the inclined plane, pulley systems can be understood by analyzing
either the forces acting on the system or the work performed on and by the system. In
this experiment you will investigate several pulley systems.
 Figure 3: Simple Pulley
III. PROCEDURE
A. Simple Machines – The Lever
1. Equipment
No Quantity Name
1 1 Statics Board
2 1 Mounted spring scale
3 1 Mass and hanger set
4 1 Balance arm and Protractors
5 1 Large pulley
6 1 Thread
7 1 Pencil or dry erase marker pen

2. Laboratory Setup

Figure 4: Experiment Setup

a. Put a Protractor at each end of the Balance Arm beam and mount the Balance
Arm on the Statics Board with the beam centred in the pivot.

b. Mount a Large Pulley and Spring Scale at one end of the Balance Arm and use
thread to connect the Spring Scale to the Protractor on the Balance Arm.

c. Use thread to hang a mass hanger from the other Protractor and add 200 g of
mass to the hanger.

d. Adjust the Large Pulley and the Spring Scale so that the Balance Arm beam is
horizontal and level.
e. Make and record the necessary measurements to show that the torques
produced by the Spring Scale and the weight of the Hanging Mass are
balanced.

f. Use a pencil or dry erase marker pen to outline the base of the Spring Scale
and the position of the top of the Hanging Mass on the Statics Board.

g. Slowly push the Spring Scale upward. (If you perform this movement slowly
enough, the reading on the Spring Scale will not vary appreciably).

h. Mark the new positions of the Hanging Mass and the Spring Scale.

i. Measure and record the distances, d1 (distance Hanging Mass moved) and d 2
(distance Spring Scale moved). Also record F 2, the reading on the Spring
Scale, and M1 and W1, the mass and weight of the Hanging Mass.

j. Move the protractor with the hanging mass to a new location about halfway to
the pivot point and repeat the experiment. Measure and record the new values
for d1, d2, and F2.

Figure 5: Raise the spring scale

 Table 1: Experiment Data
Item Trial 1 Trial 2 Item Trial 1 Trial 2
Distance hanging mass moved d1 Mass of hanging mass, M1

Distance h moved d2 Weight of hanging mass, W1

Force of spring scale, F2

3. Calculations
a. Calculate and record the work done on the system as you raised the Spring
Scale, where Work = F2d2.

b. Calculate and record the change in potential energy of the Hanging Mass as it
was raised in the Earth’s gravitational field, where ΔEpotential = M1gd1 and g =
9,8 N/kg.

Table 2: Experimental calculations

Trial Work Change of potential energy
1
2

4. Extensions
c. The type of lever that has the fulcrum between the load (hanging mass) and the
applied force (Spring Scale) is called a Class I Lever. A Class II Lever has the
load between the fulcrum and the applied force, and the Class III lever has the
applied force between the fulcrum and the load.

d. A wheelbarrow is an example of a Class II Lever, and the human forearm is an

example of a Class III Lever.
 Figure 6: Class II Lever

Figure 7: Class III Lever

e. When a lever is in equilibrium, the sum of the clockwise torques about the pivot
point (fulcrum) is equal to the sum of the counterclockwise torques about the
pivot point.

f. Make and record the measurements that are necessary to determine if the sum of
the clockwise torques equals the sum of the counterclockwise torques for the
Class II and Class III levers. Will you need to take the mass of the protractors
and the mass of the Balance Arm beam into account?

g. Diagram your results and show your measurements and calculations on a

separate sheet of paper.

Table 3: Experiment data on Extensions

Lever Σ Clockwise torque Σ counter clockwise torque Net torque

Class II
Class III
B. Simple Machines – The Inclined Plane
1. Equipment
No Quantity Name
1 1 Static Board and pulley
2 1 Mounted spring scale
3 1 Mass and hanger set
4 1 Inclined plane and mass cart
5 1 Thread
6 1 Pencil or dry erase marker pen

2. Laboratory Setup

Figure 8: Experiment setup

3. Procedure I
a. Put a 100 g mass on the peg of the Mass Cart and use the Spring Scale to
measure the total weight, W, of the cart plus mass.

Weight, W = ______________

b. Put the Inclined Plane on the Statics Board at a relatively small angle (such as
15°). Put a Pulley and the Spring Scale on the board near one end of the
Inclined Plane. Put the Mass Cart on the Inclined Plane and use thread to
connect the end of the Mass Cart to the Spring Scale.

c. Measure and record the magnitude of the force, F1, exerted by the Spring Scale
on the Mass Cart, and the angle θ of the Inclined Plane.
Force, F1 = _____________ Angle, θ = _____________
 d. Use a pencil or dry erase marker pen to outline the base of the Spring Scale on
the Statics Board.

e. Slowly raise the Spring Scale – slowly enough that there is no appreciable
change in the reading on the Spring Scale.

f. Measure and record the distance, d1, that the Spring Scale pulled the Mass Cart.
Distance, d1 = _______________

Figure 9: Measuring d1

4. Calculations on Procedure I
g. Calculate and record the height that the Mass Cart was lifted as it was pulled up
the Inclined Plane by the Spring Scale.

Height, d1 sin θ = ________________

 Figure 10: Calculate height
h. Calculate and record the amount of work done by the Spring Scale.
Work = F1 d1 = _________________

i. Calculate and record the change in gravitational potential energy of the Mass
Cart.
ΔE = Weight x height = W d1 sin θ = __________________

5. Procedure II
a. Carefully hang the Mass Cart plus the 100 g mass from the Spring Scale.
Record the force, F2, exerted by the Spring Scale.
Force, F2 = _____________

b. Slowly push the Spring Scale straight up a distance, d1 sin θ the height to which
the Mass Cart was raised when it was on the Inclined Plane. (Raise the Spring
Scale slowly so that there is no appreciable change in the reading of the Spring
Scale).

Figure 11: Raise the mass cart

6. Calculations on Procedure II
c. Calculate and record the amount of work that was done on the Mass Cart by
lifting it straight up by a distance of d1 sin θ.
Work = F d = F2 d1 sin θ = ___________________.

d. Calculate and record the change in gravitational potential energy of the Mass
Cart.
ΔE = Weight x height = W d1 sin θ = __________________.
C. Simple Machines – The Pulley
1. Equipment
No Quantity Name
1 1 Static Board
2 1 Double pulley block
3 1 Mass and hanger set
4 1 Thread
5 1 Pulley
6 1 Mounted spring scale

2. Laboratory Setup

Figure 12: Equipment setup

a. The effects of friction are more noticeable in this experiment than with the
lever or the inclined plane. Start by investigating the effects of friction in the
pulleys.

b. Put 200 g of mass on a mass hanger and use the Spring Scale to measure the
total weight, W, of the mass hanger plus mass. Record your measurement.
Weight, W = ______________

c. Put the Spring Scale and two Pulleys on the Statics Board as shown and use
thread to attach the Spring Scale to the hanging mass. Record the reading of the
force, F, on the Spring Scale.
Force, F = _______________

d. How does the force reading, F, on the Spring Scale for the pulley setup
compare to the weight, W, of the hanging mass?
 e. Set up each of the three pulley systems shown below. For each pulley system,
perform work on the system by slowing raising the Spring Scale. Measure and
record the following:
Symbo
Description Symbol Description
l
F Force reading on the Spring Scale d2 Distance that the hanging mass is raised

W/F Ratio of weight of hanging mass to force Work Work done by raising the Spring Scale (F x d1)

d1 Distance that the Spring Scale is raised ΔE Change in gravitational potential energy (W x d2)

f. Use a pencil or dry erase marker pen to outline the base of the Spring Scale.
Also mark the position of the top of the hanging mass.

Figure 13: Pulley system

g. Slowly raise the Spring Scale – slowly enough that there is no appreciable
change in the reading on the Spring Scale.

h. Measure and record the distance, d1, that the Spring Scale was raised. Also
measure and record the distance, d2, that the hanging mass was raised.

Table 4 Experiment Data

Syste
W F W/F d1 d2 Work ΔE
m
A

C
D. Analysis
1. Simple Machines – The Lever
a. How did the work done on the system compare to the change in potential
energy of the system?

b. How does a lever make it easier to perform work, such as raising a heavy
load? Explain in terms of conservation of energy

c. For the Class II Lever, is the net torque equal to zero when the lever is in
equilibrium?

d. For the Class III Lever, is the net torque equal to zero when the lever is in
equilibrium?

2. Simple Machines – The Inclined Plane

a. How does the change in gravitational potential energy of the Mass Cart
compare to the work done by the Spring Scale?

b. How does the work done on the Mass Cart when it was on the Inclined Plane
compare to the work done when it was lifted directly by the Spring Scale?

c. How does an inclined plane make it easier to perform work, such as raising a
heavy load? In other words, what is the advantage of using the inclined plane?

3. Simple Machines – The Pulley

a. How does the relationship of weight (W) and force (F) compare to the
relationship of the distance the Spring Scale was raised (d 1) and the distance
the hanging mass was raised (d2)?

b. Compare the value of W/F to the number of threads that crosses the dotted line
in the figure of the pulley system.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
V. REFERENCES
[1] PASCO Scientific. [Online]. Instruction Manual and Experiment Guide for the PASCO
scientific model ME-9502. Available:
https://www.pasco.com/file_downloads/product_manuals/Basic-Current-Balance-
Manual-ME-9502.pdf December 07,2015 [February 11, 2015]

VI. APPENDICES