Centripetal Acceleration

Introduction
The typical response when one hears the word acceleration is to think of an
object changing its speed. You have also learned that velocity has both
magnitude and direction. So, an object traveling at constant speed in a circular
path is undergoing an acceleration. In this experiment you will develop an
expression for this type of acceleration.
Objectives
In this experiment, you will
ollect force, velocity, and radius data for a mass undergoing uniform
circular motion.
!naly"e the force vs. velocity graphs.
#etermine the relationship between force, mass, velocity, and radius for
an object undergoing uniform circular motion.
$se this relationship and %ewton&s second law to determine an expression
for centripetal acceleration.
Materials
'ab(uest
)ernier *hotogate
)ernier #ual+,ange -orce Sensor
)ernier entripetal -orce !pparatus
masses
PART 1 FORCE VS VE!OCIT"
Procedure
.. !ttach a #ual+,ange -orce Sensor and a )ernier *hotogate to the )ernier
entripetal -orce !pparatus /-!0, as shown in -igure ..
Figure 1
1. onnect the force sensor and the photogate to 'ab(uest.
2. Set up data collection.
Tap 3ode. The default *hotogate 3ode 4 3otion works for this
experiment. Select the $ser defined button. The distance to be entered
is .5.6 of the circumference of the mass path. 7ecause the radius in
part . is .6 cm, this value should be 6.6819 m.
To control when data collection stops, tap the option labeled :with the
Stop button; in the field labeled :<nd data collection.; Tap =>.
-rom the ?raph menu select ?raph .. hange the axes of the graph so
that it shows force vs. velocity.
Tap the 3eter tab.
@. #etermine the mass of the sliding mass carriage. !dd mass to both the
sliding and fixed mass carriages as directed by your instructor. The mass
of the sliding and fixed carriages should be the same so that the beam is
balanced. ,ecord the total mass of the sliding carriage and extra mass.
A. *osition the fixed carriage so that its center is .6 cm from the axis of
rotation. !djust the position of the force sensor on the rail so that, when
the line is tensed, the center of the sliding mass carriage is also at .6 cm.
8. Bero the force sensor.
C. Spin the beam by twisting the knurled spindle of the -! with your
fingers. Dhen the force reaches 2+@ %, begin collecting data. 'et data
collection continue for 16+@6 s. Dhen you stop data collection, use the
friction between your hand and the knurled spindle to stop the beam.
9. If your graph of force vs. velocity is not linear, create a :calculated
column; that will enable you to obtain a linear graph /lineari"ed graph -
vs. vE0. Your instructor will explain step by step how to do this if you
cannot do it by yourself.
PART # I$VESTI%ATI$% T&E EFFECT OF MASS A$' RA'I(S
Procedure
.. hange the mass on both the fixed and sliding carriages and record the
value of the total mass of the sliding carriage and any extra masses.
1. ,e+"ero the force sensor, the spin the beam as you did before. =nce the
force reaches 2+@%, begin collecting data. Dhen you stop data collection,
stop the beam as you did in *art ..
2. hange the system mass again and record the value of the total mass of
the sliding carriage and any extra masses, then repeat Step 1.
@. ,eturn the mass on both the fixed and sliding carriages to the original
value used in *art .. #ecrease the radius of both the sliding and fixed
mass carriage by 1+2 cm. ,ecord the value of the radius. !djust the value
of the $ser defined distance in the 3ode window so that it is .5.6 of the
circular path of the mass carriage. ! warning will appear. hoose to
discard the data.
A. ,e+"ero the force sensor, then spin the beam as you did before. =nce the
force reaches 2+@ %, begin collecting data. Dhen you stop data collection,
stop the beam.
8. %ow, change the radius so that it is 1+2 cm greater than your initial value.
7e sure to adjust the $ser defined distance as you did in Step A. ,ecord
the value of the radius, then repeat Step 8 and C.
C. ,epeat step 9 of last section to lineari"e your last plots. !gain, create a
calculated column for vE. $se this calculated column to plot - vs. vE
Results
This graph shows how the masses affect the rotating objects. The lines, in order
from top to bottom, have the least masses to the most masses.
-or the orange line, the eFuation is -orce G 2.A1Hx I 6.6H.CA
-or the middle line, the eFuation is -orce G 1.A16x I 6..@2.
-or the lowest line, the eFuation is -orce G ..A@9x I 6.68.C8
Anal)sis
-rom the results, it can be told that the orange line which has the smallest mass
has the most velocity. The middle line has the middle velocity. !nd the line at
the bottom with the most masses has the most velocity.
-or the relationship between the force acting on the carriage and its tangential
velocity is the more the mass is, the more the velocity will be.
The eFuation that best fits my lineari"ed graph is y G 2.A1Hx I 6.6H.CA. -or the
steepest slope for this graph is the orange line with the smallest mass. The least
steep graph is the bottom one with the most mass.
The slope of the first three runs /from top to bottom0 are J
.0 2.A1H
10 1.A16
20 ..A@9
-or the relationship between the slope and the mass isJ if the mass is less, the
slope will be steeper.
-or the changing radius part, the slope from the changed radius&s eFuation
should be - G mvK15r. omparing the first run and the changed radius run, if
there is more radius, the force will be less.
!n eFuation relating the net force, mass, radius and velocity J
- G ma
a G vK15r
- G ma G m/vK15r0
:entripetal; is moving or directed toward a center or axis.
Conclusion
In conclusion, from the %ewton&s second law /f G ma0, the masses have an
effect on the velocity of a spinning object. If the force acts on the object is
constant, velocity and mass will be opposite to each other.
E*tra Points
Dhen you flush and there is vortex in the toilet.