Centripetal Acceleration Lab
Purpose:
The purpose of this lab is to experimentally determine how force (F) is proportional to
the period (1/T²) of the centripetal motion of the device used.
Procedure:
1. First obta
...
Centripetal Acceleration Lab
Purpose:
The purpose of this lab is to experimentally determine how force (F) is proportional to
the period (1/T²) of the centripetal motion of the device used.
Procedure:
1. First obtain a rubber stopper, string/yard, a paperclip, a small clear tube, and some coin
weights. Also, obtain a stopwatch or a device that can be used to count the time in
seconds.
2. The length of the string does not have to be a certain amount, but it is suggested to
measure and cut about 8-10 inches of string.
3. Then, tie the string/yarn around the rubber stopper tightly to ensure that it will not fall out
from the string’s grasp.
4. Next, feed this string/yarn through the clear tube. The end of the string will be used to tie
around the coin weights
5. Weigh each of the coin weights that are going to be utilized in the experiment. This
experiment requires ten different masses, so measure out 10 coin weights at the
minimum.
a. Note: Each of the coin weights may look similar, but their masses will differ from
one another. Therefore, be sure to measure each of the weights going to be used in
the experiment separately.
i. To make this easier, label each of the coin weights with a number from 1
to 10, and record each of their masses down next to their labelled number.
This will avoid any confusion between the coin weights, and the mass of
each coin can be easily obtained by looking at the data recorded down in
the notebook.
6. Next, convert the masses of the coin weights into Newtons (for force). To do this, divide
their mass in grams by 1000 to obtain their mass in kilograms. Then multiply the
resulting kilogram mass by 9.8 to obtain the force in Newtons.
a. Remember: FN = mg (m stands for mass and g stands for the gravitational
constant of 9.8 m/s^2)
7. Tie the end of the string around one of the coin weights, and record its specific force
down.
8. Then, weave the paperclip horizontally th
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