1J11.15 Tipping Block On Incline

1J11.15 Tipping Block On Incline

A block is placed on an incline and the incline is raised until the block tips.

A pair of long, narrow boards are hinged together at the left. The bottom board supports an arching piece of metal that rises along the right end, passing through a clamp in the upper board and rising to a point almost as high as the top board is long. The metal strip arches gently leftward as it rises. The upper board's clamp allows it to slide up and down this arc and will fix it in place at a desired angle. A protractor is fixed at the bottom of the top board. A small plumb bob on a bright yellow string fixed to the protractor allows the demonstrator to read the angle of inclination of the top board. A small wooden block sits upright on the top board at its current gentle angle of inclination. One imagines that if the angle were sharp enough, the block would tip.

Location: L1-L