A. Suppose you had an object that you suspected had a mass of one half of one of the washer+paperclip

units. (In the rest of this problem we’ll call that a “washerclip.”) Describe how you could use the balance you used in tutorial and a single washerclip to check this.

B. How could you use the balance to check that an object had a mass of one-fifth of one of your
washerclips?

C. Suppose you had a single washerclip and an object that you suspected had a mass of 5 washerclips.
How could you use your balance to check this?

A. To check if an object has a mass of one-half of one washerclip, you can follow these steps using the balance:

1. Place one washerclip on one side of the balance pan.
2. On the other side, place the object you want to check.
3. If the balance remains level, with neither side tipping downwards, it means the masses are equal. This indicates that the object has a mass of one-half of a washerclip.
4. If the balance tips towards the side with the object, it means the object is heavier and has a mass greater than one-half of a washerclip.
5. Conversely, if the balance tips towards the side with the washerclip, it means the object is lighter and has a mass less than one-half of a washerclip.

B. To check if an object has a mass of one-fifth of a washerclip, you can use the balance in the following manner:

1. Place one washerclip on one side of the balance pan.
2. On the other side, place the object you want to check.
3. If the balance remains level, it means the masses are equal, indicating that the object has a mass of one-fifth of a washerclip.
4. If the balance tips towards the side with the object, it means the object is heavier and has a mass greater than one-fifth of a washerclip.
5. If the balance tips towards the side with the washerclip, it means the object is lighter and has a mass less than one-fifth of a washerclip.

C. To check if an object has a mass of 5 washerclips, you can use the balance in the following way:

1. Place the single washerclip on one side of the balance pan.
2. On the other side, place the object you want to check.
3. Repeat this process five times, adding one more washerclip each time while keeping the object on the other side.
4. If the balance remains level after adding all five washerclips, it means the masses are equal, indicating that the object has a mass of 5 washerclips.
5. If the balance tips towards the side with the object before adding all five washerclips, it means the object is heavier and has a mass greater than 5 washerclips.
6. If the balance tips towards the side with the washerclips before adding all five, it means the object is lighter and has a mass less than 5 washerclips.