Physics, period 3
Malak Mokhles
Data collection: Jan
To measure the period of a swinging stopper for three selected radii in order to calculate the centripetal force
Data Table
Calculations
Calculate the centripetal force acting on the stopper.
(Fc=mac)
50 cm radius: (0.025kg)(50m/s2)=1.3N
35 cm radius: (0.025kg)(43m/s2)=1.1N
25 cm radius: (0.025kg)(39m/s2)=1.3N
State the weight of the washers
50 cm radius: 15 washers=0.75N
35 cm radius: 15 washers=0.75N
25 cm radius: 10 washers=0.50N
Calculate the percent error for each radius
(% error =|theoretical - experimental /( theoretical ) | × 100%)
50 cm radius: |0.75 – 1.3 /(0.75) | × 100% = 73%
35 cm radius: |0.75 – 1.1 /(0.75) | × 100% = 47%
25 cm radius: |0.50 – 1.0 /(0.50) | × 100% = 100%
Analysis/Discussion
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According to Newton’s first law an object will travel in a straight line unless an outside force acts on it. In this experiment, the swinging stopper is swinging at steady speed but since it is being acted upon by an outside centripetal force and therefore it is accelerating. The swinging stopper was set up by placing the string with the stopper through a tube so that the stopper is hanging out the top side of the tube and the bottom side is the clip with the washers. In this experiment, three radii were selected and for each radius three trials were conducted. In each of the trials the swinger would swing the stopper in constant speed in a horizontal plane until 20 revolutions were completed. The time it took for each of the trials was a recorded and then based on that along with the radii measurements the calculations for the centripetal force were conducted. The purpose of this experiment was to measure the period of a swinging stopper for three selected radii in order to calculate the centripetal