3B Scientific Inertia Balance - Manual

3B SCIENTIFIC® PHYSICS
1
Inertia Balance U30045
Instruction Sheet
11/08 ALF
1 Table clamp
2 Steel spring strip
3 Masses
1. Description
The inertia balance allows for measurement of mass
independent of Earth’s gravitational force.
The apparatus consists of two metal trays connected
by stiff steel spring strips. One tray has 3 holes to hold
up to three masses. The other tray may be anchored
to a table edge or laboratory bench with the included
table clamp so that the stage can vibrate horizontally.
The period of the horizontal oscillations depends on
the mass on the stage.
After the apparatus is calibrated by determining the
vibration frequency for objects of known mass, it can
be used to determine the unknown masses.
2. Equipment supplied
1 Inertia balance
1 Table clamp
1 Cord, 1.85 m
3 Masses
3. Technical data
Length of steel strip: approx. 350 mm
Masses: approx. 175 g each
4. Additionally required equipment
1 Mechanical Stopwatch, 15 min U40801
5. Operation
The mass of an object is the amount of matter it
contains, while its weight depends on the
gravitational force acting on it. Most of the methods
we use to compare masses depend on the forces they
exert – in other words, they depend on their weight.
The inertia balance gives us a method of comparing
masses directly, and independently of the
gravitational forces exerted on them.
• Attach the inertia balance to a table edge.