NCERT Solutions Curiosity Chapter 5 .5 Weight and Its Measurement — Activity 5.11: Let us calculate
Book page 745 Updated on2026-09-05
Q1.
How much is the weight difference indicated between the two bigger marks?
Answer
The weight difference indicated between 0 and 01 N, or between 01 N and 02 N, is 1 N.
On this balance the bigger marks are numbered 0, 01, 02, … 10, and those numbers stand for 0 N, 1 N, 2 N, … 10 N. So every step from one big mark to the next is a step of one newton.
Q2.
How many divisions (shown by smaller marks) are there between these two bigger marks?
Answer
There are 5 divisions between two bigger marks.
Count the gaps, not the lines. Between 0 and 01 N there are four small marks, and those four marks cut the space into five equal divisions.
Q3.
How much weight does one small division indicate?
Answer
One small division stands for one-fifth of the 1 N between two big marks.
Weight between two bigger marks = 1 N
Number of divisions between them = 5
One small division = 1 N ÷ 5 = 0.2 N
So the smallest value that this spring balance can read is 0.2 N. This smallest readable value is called the least count of the instrument.
Four small marks cut the 1 N space into five equal divisions, so each division is worth 0.2 N.
Check it yourself: the balance in your school laboratory may have a different range and a different smallest division, so work its least count out the same way before you use it. Do the same for the mass scale of Fig. 5.13 — there, 100 g is divided into 5 parts, so one division reads 100 g ÷ 5 = 20 g.