|
Sharing the Load
This week's experiment comes from a question that my mother
asked me. If you had a heavy weight that was too big and too heavy to weigh on a
scale, could you put it on several scales and then add the weights to get the
total? To try this, you will need:
First, stand on one scale and record your weight. Ouch! Too many
ice cream experiment! Then do the same on the other scale. Be sure that you get
the same weight on both scales. You may have to adjust one to get them to agree.
Then place the scales side by side. Put one foot in the center
of each scale. Before you try adding them, do some testing first. Lean to the
right
and then to the left. Notice that if you lean to the left, the left hand scale
goes up and the right hand scale goes down. When you lean to the left, it
reverses. Because of that, I found that it is much easier to have someone else
record the weights. On my first attempt, my total came out too high because I
leaned to the right to read the right hand scale and then leaned to the left to
read the other.
Try adding the totals several times. One time, lean to the side.
Then try it standing straight up. Try to see whether you can get both scales to
register exactly the same.
When you think about it, this experiment makes perfect sense. I
weight 160 pounds. If I stand on one foot, all 160 pounds are supported by that
foot. If I stand on both feet, then my weight is divided, with part on
each foot. If both feet are on the same scale, then all the weight winds
up on that
scale, whether you stand on one foot or two. If you put one foot on each scale,
then you can see that the weight is divided.
One problem that you may run into is that most household scales
are not very accurate. The spring is designed for the weight to be in the
center. Standing on one scale, try leaning to one side and you will
probably notice that your weight seems to change. To get an accurate reading,
you usually have to be in the center and stand up straight. Before you try
leaning to the side to make up for those extra ice cream experiments, be warned
that because of the way the scales work, this often causes the weight to go up
instead of down.
Have a wonder filled week.
Back to Experiment List
|
