General Equipment

Force Table parts

• 1 force table with 4 pulleys
• 1 ring with 4 strings attached

Equipment in box

• 4 sets of slot masses and hangers in the green plastic cases
• 1 bubble level

"Traffic Light" Problem

• 1 Force probe
• 1 USBLink
• 2 table poles
• 3 right-angle clamps, 2 short poles and 1 short pulley pole
• 1 single pulley

Center post and ring with string

You can check to make sure the forces are balanced by noting if the ring is centered around the post .. not touching.

Hanging masses = "Forces"

To create the "forces" for the force table situations, use the string over the pulleys connected to the mass hanger. Different slotted masses can be used to create the forces required (remember, the hanger itself has a mass of 50 grams!).

"Traffic Light" model

This is the general picture for the traffic light problem. The force probe points "upward", and the string goes over a pulley, down to the other "free" pulley (that can roll along the string), and back up to an anchor point on the far left.

Caution:

To make accurate reading, make sure that the system is aligned so that if you take a side view, all the strings are in one plane as shown, thus the string is not "twisted" around the top pulley.