Meter Stick Challenge

Using just a meter stick and a 100g weight, we were given the challenge to determine the mass of said meter stick.

The first thing we did was locate the balancing point on the meter stick. We did this by resting the stick on the edge of a table and determining where it balanced on its own, which was about a third of the way up the stick.

To solve, we set up an equation using the formula

 Force x lever arm= Force x lever arm

(Lever arm= distance from axis of rotation)

Note: Convert to Kg.

Use 9.8 for weight

We multiplied the weight (9.8) and lever arm (30) of one side, and set it equal to the weight and lever arm (20) of the other side

Once we got 1.47, we divided by the weight (9.8) to get the weight of the meter stick.

After we found our hypothetical answer, we weighed the meter stick, which ended up being about 146 grams. Since the two numbers are within 10 percent of each other, we know that our process was accurate.