UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SARAWAK

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

EEM3951
ENGINEERING LABORATORY 1
LABORATORY REPORT

LAB CODE SM 2

EXPERIMENT TITLE POLYGON OF FORCES

GROUP NO 1

1) AARON MARVIN ANAK VINCENT

2)GARY PETERSON ANAK TEGONG
NAME 3) AMELDA DIANA ANAK TONY
4)JOSHUA JIMBAT ANAK NANTA
5) KWAN KAH ZHENG
1) BME22090001
2) BME22090002
ID NO 3) BME22090003
4) BME22090007
5) BME22090008

DATE OF EXPERIMENT 24/10/2022

DATE OF SUBMISSION 6/11/2022

LECTURER Dr. Irina Wong

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
No. Topic Page

1. Objective 3

2. Theory & Introduction 3

3. Apparatus/Experiment Setup 3-5

4. Safety Precaution 5

5. Procedure 5-6

6. Results 6-7

7. Discussion 7-10

8. Conclusion 10

9. References 10

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TITLE: POLYGON OF FORCES

OBJECTIVE
To test that when three and four forces are in equilibrium at a point, they can be
represented by a Polygon of Forces from which unknown forces can be found.
The forces will be calculated to form a close polygon.
HYPOTHESIS
The angle will affect the forces that be occur on the string.

INTRODUCTION & THEORY

When four forces or more act in the same plane but in different directions on a
stationary body, their lines of action meet at a point. Because of this the forces
can be represented by a force diagram called the polygon of forces. This can be
used to find the magnitude and direction of two of the forces when the
magnitude and direction of all the other forces are known.

According to the Law of the Polygon of Forces, if any number of

contemporaneous coplanar forces can be represented in magnitude and direction
by the sides of a polygon taken in sequence, then their resultant will be
represented by the closing side of the polygon taken in opposite sequence.
Additionally, if a closed polygon is formed by the forces, the system is in
equilibrium. In our experiments, a system is made up of the four forces F1, F2,
F3, and F4. In the first illustration, the forces are creating a closed polygon,
indicating that they are in equilibrium. In equilibrium, the forces are balanced.
Thus the total force, ∑F=0, where F🇹🇹=F₁+F₂+F₃+F₄=0

APPARATUS
1. Triangle of force polygon
2. Weight hanger
3. Set of weights, 5N and 10N
4. Spring balance
5. Protractor
6. Rope

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 Spring
Balance

Protractor

Weight Set of weights,

Hanger 5N and 10N

Rope

Diagram 1: Apparatus of the experiment

EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

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Close view At the Center Of The Board

SAFETY PRECAUTION
1. When releasing the weight of the hanger with weight load metal, we need to be
careful of our legs to avoid accidents happening.

PROCEDURE
1. The pin was placed through the hole at the centre of the protractor.

2. The pin was anchored to the mounting board.

3. The centre ring was placed over the pin

4. Two spring balances are taken, and the ring was inserted at the end of each spring
balance into the centre ring.

5. For each spring balance, a spring balance anchor is taken and mounted on the board
at the desired angle.

6. The other end of the spring balance was inserted through the hole in the spring
balance anchor and tightened the locking pin.

7. A location was chosen and a pulley was anchored to apply the third force.

8. A length of a string is taken and a loop was tied at each end of the string. One loop
was slid through the centre ring.

9. The string was passed over the pulley and a load hanger was placed at the end of the
string.

10. The angle of the string makes with the horizontal was recorded (zero degree line).

11. Another location was chosen and another pulley was anchored to apply the fourth

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force.

12. A length of a string is taken and a loop was tied at each end of the string. One loop
was slided through the centre ring

13. The string was passed over the pulley and a load hanger was placed at the end of
the string.

14. The angle of the second string made with the horizontal was recorded (zero degree
line).

15. The locking pin on one of the spring balance anchors was loosened and the spring
balance was adjusted so that the centre ring is centrally located about the pin. The
locking pin was tightened. This is the zero equilibrium position. If it is not possible to
obtain equilibrium then lock the first spring balance and loosen the second spring
balance and adjust until equilibrium is achieved.

16. The angle of the spring balances with the horizontal was recorded (zero degree line).
Also any initial reading on the spring balances was recorded.

17. Weights were added to both hangers. The centre ring was displaced due to non
equilibrium of the force system.

18. The spring balance was adjusted as described in step 15 until equilibrium is
achieved.

19. The forces on the load hangers and in the spring balances were recorded.

20. The experiment is repeated with different angles and weights.

RESULTS
EXPERIMENT 1:

Spring Balance 1 Spring Balance 2 Load hanger 1

Force, 𝑆𝑆1 Angle, 𝜃𝜃1 Force, 𝑆𝑆2 Angle, 𝜃𝜃2 Force, 𝐿𝐿1 Angle, 𝜃𝜃3
0N 84° 0N 137° 5N 140°
3N 77° 3N 136° 10N 143°
6N 83° 5N 138° 15N 142°
9N 82° 9N 137° 20N 142°
11N 81° 13N 139° 25N 142°

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EXPERIMENT 2:

Spring Balance 1 Spring Balance 2 Load hanger 1 Load hanger 2

Force, 𝑆𝑆1 Angle, 𝜃𝜃1 Force, 𝑆𝑆2 Angle, 𝜃𝜃2 Force, 𝐿𝐿1 Angle, 𝜃𝜃3 Force, 𝐿𝐿2 Angle, 𝜃𝜃4
0 82 4 77 5 122 10 80
0 85 8 78 10 120 15 79
2 89 13 75 15 121 20 79
5 89 17 74 20 120 25 78
11 90 15 74 25 121 25 79

DISCUSSION
For experiment 1, assume that the force for spring balance 1 is S1 and force for
spring balance 2 is S2, θ1 is the angle between S1 and S2, and θ2 is the angle between S1
and L1 with θ3 is the angle between S2 and L1. To draw the polygon of forces, assume
as 1 N is equal to 4cm. As the first set of data giving reading of 0 N for both spring
balance, the polygon of forces cannot being drawn.
Experimental Theoretical
S1 θ1 S2 θ2 L1 θ3 S1(cm) S2(cm) L1(cm) S1 S2 L1
(N) (N) (N) (N) (N) (N)
3 77̊ 3 136̊ 10 143̊ 10 10 18.5 2.5 2.5 4.6
Table 1. Result for experiment 1

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 Diagram 1: Polygon of forces experiment 1(Experimental and theoretical)
From the polygon of force, observation can being made that the polygon is not
complete. This is because there may be influence by the force from the centre ring and
the weight holder as well as the hanger. Although there might be error occur during the
measurement of angle, making the angle not accurate. For improvement, the weight
that is used can come with variety of weight to get more accurate result. The percentage
of error in experiment 1 for S1 and S2 is 20%
3 − 2.5
× 100% = 20%
2.5

For experiment 2, let S1 be force on spring balance 1, S2 is the force on spring

balance 2, α1 is angle between S1 and S2. Let L1 be the load hanger 1 and L2 is the

load hanger 2. α2 is the angle between S1 and L2. α3 is the angle between L2 and L1

and α4 is the angle between L1 and S2.

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The polygon for the first set of data cannot be drawn because both of the spring balance
giving 0N reading. Below shows the polygon of forces of data obtained from the
experiment. To draw the polygon of forces, assume as 1 N is equal to 4cm.

Experimental Theoretical
S1 α1 S2 α2 L1 α3 L2 α4 S1 S2 L1 L2
(N) (N) (N) (N) (N) (N) (N) (N)
2 89̊ 13 75̊ 15 121̊ 20 79̊ 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5
Table 2. Result for experiment 2

20N
2N 75̊

89̊ 121̊

15N 79°
13N

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 Diagram 2: Polygon of forces experiment 2(Experimental and theoretical)
By using cosine law, the magnitude of the forces in the two strings L1 and L2 obtained
is 30.5 N.

C = √(A2 + B2 − 2ABcosc)

C = √152 + 202 − 2(15 × 20)cos121° = 30.5N

For experiment 2, the percentage of error calculated is 20% for S1.

2.5 − 2
× 100% = 20%
2.5

CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, a polygon of forces from unknown forces that forms a close polygon can be used
to represent four or more forces that are in equilibrium at a particular position.

Reference
College Physics Lab Mechanics. (n.d.). Equilibrium of Forces Acting at a Point.
Retrieved from
https://www.webassign.net/question_assets/unccolphysmechl1/lab_1/manual.html

Chris H. Luebkeman and Donald Peting. (n.d.). Equations of Equilibrium. Retrieved

from http://web.mit.edu/4.441/1_exprobs/1_exprob_7/1_exprob_71.html

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APPENDIX

S1 (N) α1 S2 (N) α2 L1 (N) α3 L2 (N) α4

5 89̊ 17 74̊ 20 120̊ 25 78̊
Table 2.

5N 74̊ 25N

89̊ 120̊

78̊
17N 120N

Diagram 2.

S1 (N) α1 S2 (N) α2 L1 (N) α3 L2 (N) α4

11 90̊ 15 74̊ 25 121̊ 25 79̊
Table 3.

25 N
11 N
74̊

̊90̊
121̊

15 N 25 N

79̊

Diagram 3.

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