Name: Christine Mae S.

Camanian Section: 12- Electra

Balancing Act
Activity 2
(To be accomplished individually for learners to work productively by assuming responsibility for their own
learning)
This lab uses the Balancing Act simulation from PhET Interactive Simulations at University of Colorado Boulder, under the
CC-BY 4.0 license.
https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/balancing-act/latest/balancing-act_en.html
Objectives:
1. Describe the factors that determine whether two objects will balance each other
2. Predict how changing the position of a mass on the balance will affect the motion of the balance
3. Use a balance to the find the masses of unknown objects
Open the full simulation Balancing Act, then open the Game screen. Use ideas you have from the objectives.
You may need to use the Intro and Balance Lab screens to learn.
1. Play Level 1
a. Did you have to change your thinking or do you have other ideas to make you get a better score? Include
screen captures from the simulation to help explain.
I did have some change of thoughts in the level 1. With observation alone I can already guess where to
place the other 20kg for it to balance yet sometimes I have to double check, accompanied by observation I
have to be critical and not too hasty. My idea was to place the weights farther from the pivot point if it was
lesser in mass compared to the weights with greater mass. And also, turning on the rulers was a game
changer!

b. When you complete the level 1 game, capture the screen with your score. Paste it below like this:

2. Play Level 2
a. Explain what makes the level more difficult or different from previous levels. Do you have new strategy
ideas or rules? Include screen captures from the simulation to help explain.
I still followed my first strategy but added another one which is using division and multiplication. For
example, if an object with a mass of 30kg at the right side was 1 meter away from the pivot point and the
other object with a mass unknown at the left side was 0.5 meter away which is half the distance of the right
side’s object then to determine the mass of the object at left side I would multiply 30kg by ½ to find the
mass which is 15kg and if the unknown mass was instead the 30kg then I would divide 15 by 1/2. It was a
strategy that make sense to me and made me answer correctly.

b. When you complete the level, capture the screen with your score and paste it below:

3. Play Level 3
a. Explain what makes the level more difficult or different from previous levels. Do you have new strategy
ideas or rules? Include screen captures from the simulation to help explain.

So my strategy was to multiply the mass and the the distance of the moment arm from the fulcrum arm
 where the object was placed, since both sides need to be equal to be balanced I used trial and error,
multiplying different distances until I find the product of the mass and distance which was equal to the
other side. Simply, I used this formula: M₁(a) = M₁(b). It was different since some of the questions in this
level needs to be calculated or needs a formula for you to arrive at an answer you are confident with.

b. When you complete the level, capture the screen with your score and paste it below:

4. Play Level 4
a. Explain what makes the level more difficult or different from previous levels. Do you have new strategy
ideas or rules? Include screen captures from the simulation to help explain.
This level was different because previous level only have 1 objects at both side yet this level occasionally
uses 2 objects at the other side and only one at other side. Hence, increasing the level of difficulty. It was
something that cannot be answered by observation alone so I have to make sure to calculate and use the
formula.
b. When you complete the level, capture the screen with your score and paste it below:

c.
Final Score:
After you play all levels of the game. Copy and paste your final results like this

Extra challenge: For an extra challenge, you can turn on the timer and see if you can improve your skills.

Turning the timer on, truly increased the challenge, I was careless enough to pick wrong answers since I panicked,
and could not calculate it at ease. But it did improve my skills, learning to observed fast and be careful. Honestly,
I did enjoy it and it felt like I was really playing a game than answering an activity for my Physics subject.