The objective of this lab is to verify (or reject) the hypothesis that the force
ID: 3278182 • Letter: T
Question
The objective of this lab is to verify (or reject) the hypothesis that the force exerted by a magnet on a ferrous object is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them For this you will need, of course, a magnet (something a little stronger than a refrigerator magnet, if you can find one). You will also need to construct a balance and you will need a ferrous object, some weights and something with which to measure distance. Construct your balance so that your ferrous object is suspended from one side and on the other side there is something from which you can hang your weights. Do this so that balance is horizontal and in equilibrium. Now place a stop on the side from which you will hang your weights so that your balance will not tip to that side Your weights should be things of known value or things that are all of equal weight (in this I am fond of paperclips because they are usually of consistent weight are easily acquired and dirt cheap). Make sure that your balance rotates freely. When all is constructed, hang your first weight from the balance and then very slowly bring your magnet towards the hanging ferrous object from below. Record the distance, between the magnet and the object, as the balance first begins to tip Put on another weight and again record the distance. Repeat this many times. [Your magnet may be too strong or too weak for your apparatus. You can compensate for this by your choice of weights or by using the notion of torque that you learned in Phys 211.] Find the inverse square of each measured distance and plot this versus the corresponding weight. If this graph is linear then you have verified the hypothesis.Explanation / Answer
You have the distance between magnet and object. Also, you have the weights. Let's say we use paper clips.
Then the number of paper weights used corresponds to one parameter while the other parameter is the distance at which the balance tips.
The inverse square law telles us that that force between the magnet and ferrous object is inversely proportional to square of distance between the magnet and object.
In this case the force is denoted in terms of number of paper clips used.
Take x-axis as square of distance and y-axis as Force or Number of paper clips used.
Plot them and fit them into a straight line.
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