Balancing broomsticks to a t!

Abstract

A classic question from rotational mechanics asks, "Is it easier to balance a broomstick heavy side up or heavy side down?" Measuring the time a student can balance an asymmetrically weighted meter stick in two orientations is a straightforward exercise that can be used to introduce or review the t' framework, which guides lab students in comparisons of results and iterative improvement of their measurements. As a two-year college physics program, many of our students attend from other institutions, so while t' is taught in the introductory mechanics labs, there is no guarantee that a student in a following lab course will be familiar with the material. To address this, the t' concepts are reviewed in the first session of subsequent lab courses. The broomstick experiment is a quick and fun implementation.