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    Force Meter

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    rizwanwasmohd3728
    3 jumbo paperclips, rubber band, dowel, plastic tube, or similar length of stiff material. Use masking tape to secure one of the paperclips to center of a dowel or plastic tube. Bend a paperclip into a "U" shape with a flat on the bottom. Attach a hook (e.g., cup hook, "s" hook, or bent paperclip) to the end of the dowel.

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    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Force Meter

    Uploaded by

    rizwanwasmohd3728
    206 views2 pages
    3 jumbo paperclips, rubber band, dowel, plastic tube, or similar length of stiff material. Use masking tape to secure one of the paperclips to center of a dowel or plastic tube. Bend a paperclip into a "U" shape with a flat on the bottom. Attach a hook (e.g., cup hook, "s" hook, or bent paperclip) to the end of the dowel.

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    Original Title

    Force Meter[1]

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    3 jumbo paperclips, rubber band, dowel, plastic tube, or similar length of stiff material. Use masking tape to secure one of the paperclips to center of a dowel or plastic tube. Bend a paperclip into a "U" shape with a flat on the bottom. Attach a hook (e.g., cup hook, "s" hook, or bent paperclip) to the end of the dowel.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    206 views2 pages

    Force Meter

    Uploaded by

    rizwanwasmohd3728
    3 jumbo paperclips, rubber band, dowel, plastic tube, or similar length of stiff material. Use masking tape to secure one of the paperclips to center of a dowel or plastic tube. Bend a paperclip into a "U" shape with a flat on the bottom. Attach a hook (e.g., cup hook, "s" hook, or bent paperclip) to the end of the dowel.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    Force Meter

    A force can measure a force of course

    Topics: Forces,
    Gravitation, Vectors
    Develop a deeper understanding of forces, mass, weight, gravitation, vectors, and
    Materials List more with an easy to make force meter.
     3 Paperclips, jumbo
     Rubber band, long Assembly
    and wide, #64, ¼” x 1. Slip 2 jumbo paperclips onto a wide rubber band as shown.
    3½” or similar 2. Use masking tape to securely attach one of the paperclips
     Cardboard tube from step 1 to the center of a dowel or plastic tube. Wrap
    about 2.5 x 15 cm the masking tape around the paperclip several times. Pull
    (~1” x 6”) long on the rubber band to check that the paperclip is securely
     Dowel, stick, plastic fastened. See figure 1. Figure 1
    tube, or similar 3. Attach a paper strip or adhesive labels along the entire
    length of stiff length of the dowel. Doing the same on both sides will
    material, narrower allow two scales to be created (e.g., newtons, grams,
    than above tube, ounces). Leave the strip(s) or label(s) blank so calibration
    ~30 cm (~12”) long marks can be written in later.
     Adhesive labels or 4. Slip the dowel into the cardboard tube. Hook the free
    paper paperclip to the top edge of the tube and secure by
     Drill wrapping masking tape around both. See figure 2.
     Cup hook or equal 5. Straighten and then bend a jumbo paperclip into a “U”
     Re-sealable bag shape with a flat on the bottom, see arrow in figure 2.
     Sand 6. Position the “U” at the bottom end of the cardboard tube
     Scale that weighs in (see figure 2) such that the bottom of the “U” is about 2 cm
    grams (3/4”) from the end of the tube. See the double headed Figure 2
     Tape, masking or arrow in figure 3. Tape the ends of the paperclip “U” to the
    equal sides of the tube as shown.
     Pencil 7. Attach a hook (e.g., cup hook, “s” hook, or bent paperclip)
    to the end of the dowel. Drill a hole if needed.
    8. If an “S” hook is needed then bend a paperclip to create an
    This activity can be used “S” shape. Inserted end of the paperclip “S” into the hole
    to teach: made in step 7. Twist and/or tape the inserted end of the
     Forces (CA Science “S” hook to secure the hook in place.
    Standards: Grade 8, 9. Wrap tape around any sharp protruding points.
    2.a – 2.f)
     Motion and Forces Figure 3
    (CA Science
    Standards: HS Calibrating the Force Meter
    Physics, 1.d, 1.e, 1.k) This force meter can be used to measure up to 10 newtons (N) of force, about ~1,000
    grams (g) or ~2 pounds (lbs).

    1. Hold the cardboard tube vertically. Check that the rubber band is relatively
    straight and not twisted inside the tube. Tug gently on the hook of the meter and
    then release to establish a zero setting. Make a horizontal calibration mark on the
    paper strip at the zero setting and label the setting “0 N” or “0 newton”.

    Developed by Jay Gluckman (RAFT) Copyright 2009, RAFT


    2. Fill 10 re-sealable bags with sand in amounts that are multiples of 102 grams (g) (102g,
    204g, 306g, etc) up to 1020 grams. Hang the 102 g bag on the force meter by pushing the
    hook through the plastic bag (see the illustration to the right). Make a line by the wire “U”
    and label the line 1N. Repeat for the 204g bag, labeling the line 2N. Repeat for the other
    bags until the scale measures up to 10 N of force (1020 grams). If the ability to measure
    other units of force (pounds, ounces) or mass (grams) is desired, create appropriate
    weight/mass calibration bags of sand and use to add additional calibration marks to the label
    on the other side of the dowel.
    3. Note the calibration of the meter should be check every few weeks and after the meter has
    been used to measure large forces. Replace the rubber band if it is over stretched or breaks,
    then recalibrate the meter before using it to measure forces.

    To Do and Notice
    There are numerous uses for a force meter. Some possibilities include:
     Measuring the gravitational force on different small objects.
     Measuring the force necessary to drag a small object up an inclined plane.
     Using a catapult and a force meter to gather data on the distance traveled by a projectile vs.
    the force applied to the catapult’s throwing arm (See the RAFT Idea Sheet Catapults) (Use
    a safe projectile such as a cotton ball, foam dowel, or pom-pom.)
     Using a force meter to measure the force on a mousetrap spring. See the RAFT Idea Sheet
    Mousetraps in Motion.

    The Science Behind the Activity


    Measurement is basic to the scientific process. When a force acts upon an object, the force might cause the object
    to be pushed, pulled, accelerated, rotated, or deformed. Many types of forces exist including: spring, chemical,
    magnetic, gravitational, tension, and friction forces. In physics, a force has both a size (magnitude) and a
    direction; the combination is expressed as a force vector. One common unit for measuring force is the newton (N),
    named after Sir Isaac Newton. On the surface of the Earth, the force of Earth’s gravity will pull on 101.972 grams
    (0.224809 lbs) with a force of 1 N. Unbalanced forces cause a change in motion. Balanced forces do not cause a
    change in motion. When a bag of sand is attached to a force meter and the bag stops moving, the forces involved
    are said to be balanced. In this activity the downward force of gravity upon the bag of sand is balanced by the
    upward elastic force of the rubber band.

    In 1678, Robert Hooke showed that the distance a spring will stretch is proportional to the amount of force applied
    to the spring (Hooke’s Law). For this reason, springs are frequently used in force meters. Rubber bands will
    approximately follow Hooke’s Law for relatively small amounts of force. The rubber band does not follow Hook’s
    Law exactly due to the rubber band’s variable elasticity, which changes with use. A rubber band based force meter
    is still suitable for simple force explorations, but not where more accurate or consistent measurements are needed.

    It is easy to confuse the terms force, mass, and weight. A bathroom scale and many other types of scales are force
    meters. The term mass refers to the amount of matter contained within an object, a number that would be the same
    anywhere in the universe. Weight is a measure of the force of gravity pulling on an object and will vary with
    location (Earth vs. moon, for example). The weight of an object is proportional to the mass of the object. The
    measurement of the gravitational force upon an object will provide an indirect measurement of an object’s mass.

    Web Resources (Visit www.raft.net/more for how-to videos and more ideas!)
    Difference between force and mass - http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Gene_Nygaard/weight.htm

    Force Meter, page 2 Copyright 2009, RAFT

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