UNIFORM CIRCULAR MOTION VII

DEBRA JONES

PARTNER NAME: JULIA JONES

OCTOBER 21, 2014

PHYSICS-105-004
Abstract:

The purpose of this experiment was to examine centripetal force and how changes in

rotating mass, rotational velocity, and rotational radius affect it. This was done by using a

centripetal motion apparatus and a centripetal motion apparatus. The first factor tested was the

centripetal forces dependence on velocity. This was done by first placing 100g of weight on both

the sliding and the fixed mass holders, and setting them at a radius of 15 cm. The platform was

then spun to an angular speed of 12 radians per second, and the Angular Velocity and Force were

recorded from 12 radians per second until the angular speed had slowed to 6 radians per second.

The data recorded for the angular speed and the force were then linearized, and the experimental

slope was found to be 0.023 N/s^2. Compared to the theoretical slope of 0.045 N/s^2, the percent

error of this experiment was found to be 47.9%. Based on the positive slope found in the data,

the centripetal force increases as the angular speed increases. Possible sources of error in this

experiment could be due to the sliding stand having a slightly smaller mass than the fixed stand,

or it could be due to the radius being set at 15 instead of 18 cm.

The second factor that was tested used the centripetal force in order to estimate an

unknown mass. In this experiment, unknown masses were placed on the holders at a radius of 14

cm, the platform was spun to an angular speed of 12 radian/second, and the angular velocity and

force was collected for the time that it took for the speed to slow from12 radians/sec to 6

radians/second. This data was then linearized, and a LINEST test was run. Using the LINEST

value, the unknown mass was estimated to be 0.1098kg. Compared to the actual mass of

0.1987kg, the percent error of the experiment was found to be 44.7%. A possible source of error

in this experiment could be due to the mass holders having slightly different masses, or could be

due to slight wobble that was in the string due to it not being perfectly straight.
 The third experiment conducted tested the dependence of centripetal force on different

radii. This was done by placing 150g weights on each of the stands. The angular velocity and the

force was then recorded when the angular speed was 12 radians/second. These values were

recorded for radii at 20 cm, 16 cm, 12 cm, and 8 cm. The force of each trial was found to be 3.56

N, 3.89 N, 4.32 N, and 4.41 N respectively. The slope of the radius versus force was found to be

-0.1266 m/N. Based on the data collected, the smaller the radius is, the greater the Force is on the

system. Possible sources of error for this experiment could be due to a slight wobble in the string

due to it not being completely straight, or because the force was recorded when the angular speed

was not exactly at 12 radians/second.

Discussion:

1) In the final experiment of this lab, to make up for the angular speed not being held

constant, the Force was recorded repeatedly as soon as the angular speed got close to

12 radians per second. The Force that was matched with the angular speed closest to

12 radians per second was used in the data. One way this experiment could be

changed is to have an apparatus that would keep the angular speed at a constant value.

Another way the experiment could be improved is to run multiple trials of either the

methods from this experiment, or the improved experiment that would have a

constant angular speed. These multiple trials would allow for trends in the data to be

seen, and there would be more evidence to support those trends. Finally, different

masses could be used to again observe different patterns. The weights per trial would

be equivalent on each stand, but different trials would test a different selected mass.

This would also provide more data that could support visible trends.