Report About Triple Beam Balance

What is a Triple Beam Balance?

Triple beam balances are a type of lab equipment. The purpose of the
balance is to measure the mass (how much stuff is inside something) of
an object that is placed on the pan (flat stainless steel surface). Generally,
the object which is being measured has a small mass as the balance does
not exceed 610 grams. The balance has three weights placed on top of
beams. Those weights are called riders (they ride on top of the beams)
and act as counter masses. Counter masses are used to balance both
sides of the balance to indicate the mass of the object. When a person
balances the mass of their object with the counter masses, they will be
able to read the beam values and determine the mass of the object that
they had placed on the pan.

Triple Beam Balance Parts

 Base: The base of the balance is what holds all the parts in place. It is located
at the bottom of the balance and rests on a flat surface.
 Beams: The triple beam balance has three beams. They are located to the right
of the pan. The beam in the back measures up to 100 grams, the beam in the
middle measures up to 500 grams, and the beam in the front measures up to 10
grams.
 Counter masses: They can also be called riders or weight poises. The counter
masses are attached to the beams. The masses slide across the beams to the
right and increase the mass being placed on the right side of the balance; if the
masses move to the left, the mass to the right side of the balance decreases.
 Notched beams: The beam in the middle and the back of the balance have
notches that occur in intervals (the middle beam notch is at 100 grams interval
and the beam at the back is at 10-gram intervals). By placing the
counterweight in the notch gives a precise measurement. If the counterweight
is not in the notch, the user will be unable to precisely measure the mass of the
object placed on the pan.
 Pointer: The pointer determines when the object with the weights is balanced
with the ones on the beams. The pointer is located to the far right of the
balance connected to the three beams. The goal of the pointer is to line up the
point to the -0, which is located opposite of the pointer.
 Weighing pan: The pan can also be called a plate. It is flat and made of
stainless steel. The object intended to be measured will be placed on the plan
in the center. If the object is not placed in the center of the pan, the mass
measured will not be precise.
 Zero adjustment knob: The knob is used to adjust the balance back to zero.
Before placing the object that one intends to measure, one must make sure that
the balance is at 0 grams. This means that the pointer and -0 need to be lined
up exactly. If the pan has nothing on it, and the pointer and the -0 (zero mark)
  do not line up, use the zero adjustment knob to adjust the two, so they line up
by turning the knob one way or the other depending on which way requires
adjustment.
 Zero mark: To the right of the pointer is a 0 with a negative mark. This is the
mark that needs to be lined up in order to precisely measure the mass of the
object. This indicates, the object is balanced with a possible margin of error of
0.05 grams (margin of error indicates that the object mass could be off by 0.05
grams either positively or negatively).

Triple Beam Balance Diagram

Look at the triple beam balance labeled triple beam balance diagram. One can see all
the parts labeled with pointers to show them the location of each part. The parts have
arrows to indicate the location of the part.

What is a Triple Beam Balance Used for?

A triple beam balance measures the mass of an object with a mass less than 610
grams. Observe a triple beam balance and the three different beams. Based on the
diagram provided in this lesson, the beam's measurement is front to back: the beam in
the front is 10 g (grams), the middle is 500 g (grams), and the beam in the back is 100
g (grams). When the maximum value possible for each beam is added up, the total is
610 grams. This is why the maximum mass of the triple beam balance is 610 grams.