Station 4

In this station, a mass was supported by two strings at different angles. The mass was stationary and therefore in constant velocity, so the net force acting on it must be zero. Since this is true, we know that the forces on the mass, the tension force of strings a and b on the mass and the gravitational force of the earth on the mass, must equal to zero. The tension forces could be easily measured, one had a magnitude of 3.8 Newtons and a direction of 145 degrees and the other was 3.7 Newtons and 30 degrees. To find the magnitude and direction of the third force, gravitational force, the known two forces must be added together using the head-to-tail method and the resultant vector will be the correct magnitude, but in the opposite direction. The third force turns out to be 4 Newtons and 270 degrees.