Use of Balance Lab

Period: Honors Physics 3(A)

September 21st, 2016

Brittany Bandini: Coordinator

Ana Inciarte: Laureate

Amelia Navarro: Statistician

Michael Taylor: Visionary

September 19th, 2016

Purpose
 The purpose of this lab was to become familiar with the proper use of the two pan

balance by measuring precisely the mass of a solid object and the mass of several objects taken

together. Also, to successfully use methods for averaging error.

Materials

- Two Pan Balance

- Pen/pencil
- Pool Ball
- Samples of Peas
- 3 Metal Cylinders/Cubes
- Petri dish

Procedure

During the Use of a Balance lab, lab groups learned how to properly use a 2 pan balance

by measuring the mass of different objects together or individually. All the materials were first

collected to begin the lab and the lab group placed the 2 pan balance on top of the lab table. The

balance was zeroed by setting all the counter masses to zero and by adjusting the zeroing knob,

(which is located under the right side pan), and making sure the zero readout pointer on the zero

indicator is aligned with the dash. The mass of the pencil was determined by placing it on the left

side pan and sliding the counter masses on the beam until the zero readout pointer is on the zero

mark. You repeat these steps when measuring the mass of the pool ball, and each cylinder and

cube separately. When the combined mass of all three cylinders were measured, all the counter

masses were set to zero and all three cylinders were placed on the left side pan and the counter

masses were adjusted so that the zero readout pointer was on the zero mark. The mass of the

three cubes were determined by placing all three cubes on the left side pan and by adding 100

gram weights to the right side to even out the scale and once again, the counter masses were

adjusted accordingly so that the zero readout pointer matched up with the zero mark. To
determine the mass of any ten peas, ten peas were taken out from the plastic bag and placed on

top of a petri dish so they wouldnt roll over while being measured. Then the petri dish was also

placed on the left side pan and the counter masses were adjusted so that the zero readout pointer

would go to the zero mark. The mass of fifty peas was determined by counting 50 peas from the

bag and placing them on the petri dish and placing the dish on the left side pan, the counter

masses had to be adjusted so that it the zero readout pointer aligned with zero. To determine the

mass using fifty new peas, count 50 peas that werent used previously and separate them into

groups of ten, and place one group at a time in the petri dish and measure the mass of that one

group, adjusting the counter masses so that the zero readout pointer matches with the zero mark.

In the end, because the petri dish was used to determine the mass of the peas, the mass of the

petri dish would also be determined similarly to how the mass of the pen was found, and the

mass of the petri dish would be subtracted from the original measurements of the 10 peas, 50

peas, and five groups of ten peas.

Data Tables/Results/Computations

Pool Ball 98.3g

Pencil 5.7g

10 Peas 3.9g

50 Peas 8.7g

Cylinder 1 46.1g

Cylinder 2 46.1g

Cylinder 3 46.1g

Mass of all 3 cylinders 138.0

Cube 1 139.1g

Cube 2 139.4g

Cube 3 139.5g

Mass of all 3 cubes 417.8g

1st Group of 10 Peas 1.1g

2nd Group of 10 Peas 1.1g

3rd Group of 10 Peas 1.2g

4th Group of 10 Peas 1.3g

5th Group of 10 Peas 1.3g

Petri dish 9.4g

Each cylinder individually weighed 46.1 grams. However, that does not add up to the overall

mass of the cylinders because all three cylinders together weighed 138 grams. However, if you

multiply 46.1 by 3, it equals 138.3. So all three cylinders together on the two pan balance weigh

0.3 grams less. All the cubes weighed different amounts, however, when they were all added up,

they weighed 418 in total, compared to the 417.8 they weighed when they were placed at the

same time on the two pan balance.

46.1 x 3 = 138.3 138.0

139.1 + 139.4 + 139.5 = 418 417.8

No, we could have not measured a sample of ten peas and then multiply it by the amount that we

want. If we multiplied 3.9g (the amount of 10 peas) by 5, it would equal 19.5g, which would not

be the same as 8.7g. The data did not coincide well because the masses of each different group of
10 peas were different. One group of peas weighed 3.9g, while another weighed 1.1g. There was

not a set mass for a group of 10 peas.

3.9g / 10 = 0.39g (one pea)

1.1g / 10 = 0.11g (one pea with Group 1 of peas)

.11x = 98.3g

.11x/.11 = 98.3/.11

X = 893.6

It would take 983.6, or 894 peas to balance the golf ball.

Errors

The error that occurred throughout the lab was the balance not being zeroed out properly.

The balance was set close to zero, but the needle was not actually in line with the zero mark. By

not zeroing the balance out all the way, the masses were a little skewed. Another error that

occurred, that is similar to the first error, was that the needle didnt hit zero precisely every time

the group was finding the mass of an object and balancing the object out. This caused the masses

to get even more skewed.

Conclusion

The purpose of this lab was to become familiar with the proper use of the two pan

balance by measuring precisely the mass of a solid object and the mass of several objects taken

together. Important information needed in order to perform this lab is knowing that the purpose
of a balance is to measure mass, which differs from a scale which is used to measure weight.

When using a balance to measure mass, you must zero out the balance in order to get a true

reading. With a scale however, you will get different readings based on where the object is and

the amount of gravity being forced on that object. For this lab, measuring the mass of many peas

is more desirable than measuring the mass of one pea in finding the average mass because the

average weight will be closer to the actual weight of each pea. If we were to measure only one

pea, and that pea happened to be the biggest and heaviest pea in sample, then the average weight

would be too high and the average mass would not be close to any of the other peas weights. To

conclude, this lab would be considered precise, because the measured values were close to each

other, but were not accurate because the measurements were not near the true value.