3B Scientific Inertia Balance - Manual (Page 2)

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• Using no mass on the stage displace the apparatus
slightly so that the stage vibrates horizontally.
• Record the period for 10 oscillations.
• Do three measuring runs, then average the
results.
The period T of one oscillation is the time taken
between the stage passing through its mid point, and
the next time it passes through the same point,
moving in the same direction.
• Repeat this process using as many different
combinations as possible of the three masses
supplied.
• Put your results into a table.
• Plot a graph of period T against mass m.
• Repeat the experiment with the unknown mass,
and use the graph to find the magnitude of this
mass.
The inertia balance is actually a compound spring
system. The period of an oscillating spring is given by
the equation
D
m
T
⋅ π = 2 2
4 (1)
where T = period, m = mass on the spring, D = the
spring's elasticity constant.
• Plot a graph of T 2 against mass.
• Determine the elasticity constant D from the slope
of the graph.
• Calculate the unknown mass m from the equation (1).