Investigate how the deflection of a cantilever depends on the distance of a load is hung from the point it is clamped.

           (You change in                          (Changes during an                 (Kept to be a fair test)

            the experiment)                        experiment)

                                     

                

                 - I must make sure I use the same weight each time.

                 - I must keep the clamp in place.

- Two ‘1 metre’ rulers

- A clamp stand

                 - A ‘G’ Clamp

- 7N weight

                            - Set up the apparatus like above diagram.

   - Measure from floor to the top of the ruler. (NOTE: measurement 0cm at bottom)

   - Decide where the measurement will be taken from.

   - Then clamp the ruler at the bottom to receive the correct measurement.

   - Decide how much the ruler will stick out of the table. (At 70cm)

   - Using the ‘G’ clamp, tighten it with the ruler to the table.

   - The intervals will be at every 10cm and I will place 7N weight at each intervals.

   - Once I have completed the intervals from 10cm to 70cm, I will go back and repeat this again to check readings.

   - Finally, after I attempted this once more, I will add up the differences of deflection and work out the average.

                

                 

                

                 

On average, the deflection increased, as the distance from table increased. There were two anomalous points at 10cm and 20cm; this is because the ruler did not deflect well at shorter distance. The line of best fit on the graph showed a negative correlation. This experiment shows that the bigger the distance, when 7N weight is added, the increase in deflection. My prediction was that the bigger the distance, the bigger the deflection and this proved to be correct. The further the ruler was away from the clamp, with the same weight applied, it gave a greater moment.  

        There were a few anomalies in my results so the experiment was not accurate. This was due to several reasons:-

• The ruler that was held by a clamp stand was not straight to get accurate measurement.
• The table clamp may have not been fixed properly, therefore giving inaccurate measurements and also jilting back and forth.
• The ruler may have not been flexible enough to give deflection.

In order to make the experiment more accurate, I would have to:-

• Make sure that the table clamp is fixed onto the table properly.
• Use rulers that are flexible to give out accurate measurements.
• Try to use and appropriate clamp stand that will hold the ruler straight