A cantilever is a rigid beam vertically supported on only one end with a load on the other end (“Wikipedia”). Typically, if one were to place a weight towards the free end of a cantilever, some bending, or flexion, would be expected. Flexion, in this case, is the action of bending or the condition of being bent (“Merriam-Webster”). Given that angle measurements are involved, a protractor is typically used to measure flexion at the bending point of the cantilever. As stated before, the fact that flexion will occur as the cantilever length changes is already known. I want to see how much the flexion will change, as well as whether length and flexion are directly or indirectly proportional. To alter the length, I will be using two different …show more content…
This protractor was broken towards the top with a small crack in it. This definitely could have led to sizable amount of uncertainty and could have affected the outcome significantly and led to inaccuracies in the data as well. Another systematic error is me reading the measurements inaccurately, but I do not think that this error is notable. A random error was me using the same mass six times and getting the different values of 2.0 and 3.0 degrees for flexion, as well the values of 5.0 and 6.0 for a different length. Considering that the line goes through all the error bars though, any random error that may have occurred did not have a substantial impact on the end results (“Random vs. Systematic Error”). There was no other literature value to compare my results …show more content…
Conduct the experiment in a place with very few people. Ask those who are close to moving it to be careful. Pay attention to surroundings. If somebody does bump it, then readjust the cantilever, making it as stable as possible.
Took time to twist the C-Clamp into place, as I was unfamiliar with it and had never used one before.
Become familiar with all experimental equipment beforehand to save time. Make sure you know how to use each of the materials.
There was a crack in the protractor, which may have led to inaccurate readings.
Use a fully readable and unbroken protractor. It should be completely functional. This will make for more accurate readings.
The above solutions can reduce the systematic and random errors that came from this experiment. Although controlled variables such as room temperature and the mass of the load do not have be better handled, the method used to calculate the flexion can be. As stated above, using a better functioning protractor can fix that problem.
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