Centripetal Force Lab

Patrick yoha
Period 6/7
Purpose of lab: To be able to determine the relationship between centripetal force, mass,
velocity, and the radius of orbit for a body that is undergoing centripetal acceleration
Background Information: Centripetal forces are forces that hold a revolving object in
its circular path. It is center seeking, and necessary for circular motion. Centrifugal
forces are forces that are center fleeing, so they are the action/reaction pair to centripetal
force. They are directed away from the center, and never act on revolving objects. We
learned a lot about these two forces and how they compliment each other. The equation
for relating centripetal force, mass, radius of circle, and velocity is:
Fc = (m v2) / r
Equipment and Set-Up:
Tension
Fc

Tension

FG
This is the set up for the experiment. The following is used for the project:
-plastic tube
-rubber stoppers of different size
-nylon cord
-different weighing hanging masses
-stopwatch
-meter stick
-tape
Basically, you set the apparatus up by fastening the nylon cord on the rubber stopper.
With the other end of the nylon cord, you put it through the plastic tube, and secure a
hanging weight on the end. The directions will specify the distance of the radius, and

also bits and pieces of the set up. Once the radius is known, set it up as told and place a
piece of tape just below the bottom of the tube and above the hanging mass.
Procedural Summary: Physically what we did was swing the apparatus around in the
air in a circular rotation, counting the number of rotations until it reached our given
number of 20. We changed the distance of the radius, the weight of the mass, and the size
of the stopper to give us different results. The time it took for each variable was what we
looked at, and helped us verify the relationship between different aspects for an
occurrence undergoing centripetal acceleration.
Data:

Varying
Stopper

Varying
Radius

Varying
Mass

Data
Trial
#
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

Hanging Mass
(g)
100
150
200
250
300
100
100
100
100
100
200
200
200
200
200

Mass of Stopper
(g)
28.7
28.7
28.7
28.7
28.7
28.7
28.7
28.7
28.7
28.7
28.7
26.6
48.1
20.5
12.9

Total Time
(s)
15.72
11.94
11.07
10.19
9.54
12.81
15.62
19.59
21.53
23.2
11.03
11.19
15.44
9.82
6.62

Calculations:

Calculations
Trial #

Centripetal
Force (N)

Period (s)

Circumfrence
(m)

Velocity
(m/s)

1
2
3
4

0.981
1.4715
1.962
2.4525

0.786
0.597
0.5535
0.5095

3.14
3.14
3.14
3.14

0.199745547
0.262981575
0.283649503
0.30814524

Radius (m)
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.3
0.5
0.7
0.9
1
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5

5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

2.943
0.981
0.981
0.981
0.981
0.981
1.962
1.962
1.962
1.962
1.962

0.477
0.6405
0.781
0.9795
1.0765
1.16
0.5515
0.5595
0.772
0.491
0.331

3.14
1.884
3.14
4.396
5.652
6.28
3.14
3.14
3.14
3.14
3.14

0.329140461
0.1470726
0.201024328
0.224400204
0.262517418
0.270689655
0.28467815
0.280607685
0.203367876
0.319755601
0.474320242

Example of each type of calculation:

Centripetal force (N)Period (s) -

hanging mass
1000

total time (s) = 15.72 s

20
20

x 9.81 = 100 x 9.81 = 0.981 N

1000
= .786 s

Circumference (m) 2 x 3.14 x radius (m) = 2 x 3.14 x 0.5 m = 3.14 m

Velocity (m/s) circumference (m) x total time (s) = 3.14 x 15.72 = 0.199745547 m/s

Graphs:
Trial 1-5

Trial 6-10

Trial 11-15

Error Analysis:
We had a few things that may have made our data the way it was. There were a
few times that didnt seem completely right. This may have been because when we were
swinging the apparatus around; our counter may not have counted all the rotations
correctly in the time space. Depending if he missed one or counted an extra one, our time
in seconds may have been a little too high or a little too low. Also, the person with the
stopwatch may not have stopped it at exactly 20 rotations. The minimal error we got was
not all human error though. We did not have the best stopwatch at first, which caused
some of the times to be slightly off. Also, everyones apparatus was a little bit different
and if ours was defective in any way when set up, then a few times may have been
affected in the sense of making it take longer.
Fn
Questions and Conclusions:
Tension Fc
1.
Fg

As you can see above in the diagram, there is tension on the nylon cord that is
pulling the stopper towards the center. The normal force is always pulling up, and

the force of gravity always pulling down, but they are cancelled out in this
situation. The tension pulling the rubber stopper keeps the stopper in the circle.
Its a strong tension with us twirling it.
2. Relative to the radius, the stopper would go away from it. Newtons first law is
the law of inertia. The object remains in its state of motion until an outside force
is applied to it. The string breaking or us letting go is supported by Newtons first
law in us changing it; therefore making the stopper fly away from the radius.
Newtons 2nd law is f=ma. The velocity of the stopper would be changed when
this force is applied, sending it away from the radius. It maintains the same
velocity until disturbed by us letting go or the nylon cord breaking.
3. As the centripetal force went up, the velocity went up as well.
4. The velocity of the object increases as the radius of the circle increases.
5. The velocity of the object goes down as the mass of the object moving increases.
6. The centripetal force would have to go up. This is because the radius of the circle
is going up, and therefore a larger force must be applied to keep it going with the
same mass.
In conclusion, this was a very interesting lab. We found that changing the
variables in our experiment affected the results greatly, and gave us different times for
everything. The centripetal force made the velocity go up, and the higher the velocity
then the greater the radius of the circle. The velocity went down when the mass of
the object was greater. We saw all of these things throughout our experiment. We
worked well together, and overcame the minimal problems we needed to. Figuring
out how to get the calculations with Microsoft Excel was a task, but we worked hard
to achieve our goal. We now know the relationship between centripetal force, mass,
velocity, and the radius of orbit for a body that is undergoing centripetal acceleration.