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arXiv · 2611.06942

Balancing broomsticks to a t!

David Marasco
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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.

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David Marasco. 2026-11-02. Balancing broomsticks to a t!. https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0322733

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