Republic of the Philippines

CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE

F. Pimentel Avenue, Brgy. 2, Daet, Camarines

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

EN PHYS 1 –PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS

___ semester AY 20__ - 20__
ACTIVITY WORKSHEET

Name: John Benedict P. Avellana Rating:

Feb 24 2022
Course/Block: BSEE 1C Date:
Activity No. 4 : Balancing Act
Learning Objective: At the end of this activity, the student must be able to:
1. Demonstrate through the simulation concept of torque.
2. Analyze and calculate a scenario involving torque.

Direction: Go to the link - https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/balancing-act/latest/balancing-act_en.html

Choose “Intro” tab. Play around with the simulation for a few minutes to understand/ explore the functionalities of
the different components. To check if the board is balanced at the pivot, remove supports under the board by
toggling the switch at bottom of the screen to right.

PART 1: BALANCING TORQUES ON A SEESAW

Choose “Balance Lab” tab. Select the following options in right corner of the screen:
Mass Labels, Level, Rulers

For each of the following cases, balance the board at the pivot. Don’t forget to remove the supports under the
board.

For each case, calculate total clockwise torque (Σ τcw ), total counterclockwise torque (Σ τccw ) and net torque (Σ τ = Σ
τcw + Σ τccw ). Don’t forget to convert masses to weights and the signs of toques (cw torque is negative & ccw torque
is positive).

NOTE: Show calculation steps. Do not just compute on calculator and write the answer. Instead write the complete
expression showing what numbers you multiplied/added to get the answers.

Prepared by: Noli M. Esperas Jr. Page 1 of 9

 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE
F. Pimentel Avenue, Brgy. 2, Daet, Camarines

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

EN PHYS 1 –PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS

___ semester AY 20__ - 20__
ACTIVITY WORKSHEET

Case 1.
5 kg on right of the pivot, 10 kg on left of the pivot
Screenshot:

Σ τcw = -10 Nm
Σ τccw = 10 Nm
Σ τ = Σ τcw + Σ τccw = -10Nm + 10Nm = 0Nm
Solution:

Prepared by: Noli M. Esperas Jr. Page 2 of 9

 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE
F. Pimentel Avenue, Brgy. 2, Daet, Camarines

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

EN PHYS 1 –PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS

___ semester AY 20__ - 20__
ACTIVITY WORKSHEET

Case 2.
5 kg & 10 kg on right of the pivot, 15 kg on left of the pivot
Screenshot:

Σ τcw = -26.25 Nm
Σ τccw = 26.25 Nm
Σ τ = Σ τcw + Σ τccw = 0 Nm
Solution:

Prepared by: Noli M. Esperas Jr. Page 3 of 9

 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE
F. Pimentel Avenue, Brgy. 2, Daet, Camarines

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

EN PHYS 1 –PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS

___ semester AY 20__ - 20__
ACTIVITY WORKSHEET

Case 3.
5 kg & 20 kg on right of the pivot, 10 kg & 15 kg on left of the pivot
Screenshot:

Σ τcw = -41. 25 Nm
Σ τccw = 41.25 Nm
Σ τ = Σ τcw + Σ τccw = 0 Nm

Solution:

Prepared by: Noli M. Esperas Jr. Page 4 of 9

 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE
F. Pimentel Avenue, Brgy. 2, Daet, Camarines

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

EN PHYS 1 –PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS

___ semester AY 20__ - 20__
ACTIVITY WORKSHEET

Case 4.
5 kg, 10 kg & 15 kg on right of the pivot, 20 kg on left of the pivot
Screenshot:

Σ τcw = -40 Nm
Σ τccw = 40 Nm
Σ τ = Σ τcw + Σ τccw = 0 Nm
Solution:

Prepared by: Noli M. Esperas Jr. Page 5 of 9

 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE
F. Pimentel Avenue, Brgy. 2, Daet, Camarines

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

EN PHYS 1 –PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS

___ semester AY 20__ - 20__
ACTIVITY WORKSHEET

Case 5.
5 kg , 15 kg & 20 kg on right of the pivot, 10 & 15 kg on left of the pivot
Screenshot:

Σ τcw = -47.5 Nm
Σ τccw = 47.5 Nm
Σ τ = Σ τcw + Σ τccw = 0 Nm
Solution:

Prepared by: Noli M. Esperas Jr. Page 6 of 9

 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE
F. Pimentel Avenue, Brgy. 2, Daet, Camarines

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

EN PHYS 1 –PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS

___ semester AY 20__ - 20__
ACTIVITY WORKSHEET

PART 2: FINDING UNKNOWN MASSES

Choose “Balance Lab” tab. Select the following options in right corner of the screen:
Mass Labels, Level, Rulers
In the “Bricks” section on the right of the screen, click on the right arrow. Keep on clicking to the right until you see
“Mystery Objects”.

Find out the mass of each of the Mystery Objects “E”, “F”, “G” and “H” by balancing each of these against the bricks
of known masses. For each Mystery Object, paste a screenshot of balanced seesaw and show all calculation steps.

Mystery Object “E”

Screenshot of balanced seesaw:

Prepared by: Noli M. Esperas Jr. Page 7 of 9

 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE
F. Pimentel Avenue, Brgy. 2, Daet, Camarines

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

EN PHYS 1 –PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS

___ semester AY 20__ - 20__
ACTIVITY WORKSHEET

Mystery Object “F”

Screenshot of balanced seesaw:

Mystery Object “G”

Prepared by: Noli M. Esperas Jr. Page 8 of 9

 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE
F. Pimentel Avenue, Brgy. 2, Daet, Camarines

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

EN PHYS 1 –PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS

___ semester AY 20__ - 20__
ACTIVITY WORKSHEET

Mystery Object “H”

Screenshot of balanced seesaw:

Conclusion:

- While performing the balancing action in the stimulation, I noticed that in

order to balance a seesaw, you must use the same amount of force to
keep it balanced. Even if their masses are different, they can still balance
the seesaw by properly positioning the bricks and determining the center
of the seesaw's mass. I also understand that the total torque of a torque
with a balanced equilibrium of mass and length is always zero.

Prepared by: Noli M. Esperas Jr. Page 9 of 9