EXPERIMENTAL MEASUREMENT OF A MONKEY TOY THAT CAN STAND STEADILY AFTER A 360° SOMERSAULT¹⁾

A monkey toy that can stand steadily after a 360° somersault is analyzed in this paper by experimental methods. Firstly, the location of the center of mass of the monkey toy is determined by a suspension experiment. Then the compound pendulum method is used to measure the moment of inertia of the monkey toy. Finally, the stiffness of the spring used in the monkey toy is determined by a tension test. The motion of the monkey toy during its 360° somersault is measured by the digital image correlation method. The results show that the experimental results agree well with the theoretical analysis, and the mechanism of the motion of the monkey toy is well explained. This experimental project can enhance students' interest in experiment and scientific research.