Centripetal ForceBalancing Centripetal ForceMay 23, 2017Centripetal ForceAbstractCentripetal force is the net force of uniform circular motion. Without this force objects would just move in a straight line and never deviate from that path and direction.The experiment was centered around centripetal force and uniform circular motion. The effects radius has on centripetal force and the time revolutions take were recorded and compared in this lab. The object was a washer tied to the end of a fishing line. The larger the radius of the circular path, the longer it will take for the object to complete a full revolution. The washer in this experiment was an accelerating object because even though the speed was constant, the washer had a constantly changing velocity because the direction is constantly changing when moving in a circular path.Centripetal ForceIntroductionThe purposed of the experiment, “Balancing Centripetal Force,” is to show how radius, mass, andspeed have an effect on an object’s centripetal force. Without centripetal force, objects would continue to move in a straight path and never break away from it. Centripetal force is the net force of uniform circular motion. Uniform circular motion is can be defined as the motion of an object that is moving in a circle at a constant speed. When this object is moving in a circle, the direction of the object is continuously changing. At any point during this motion, the object is moving tangent to the circle. When an object is moving in a circle, it is accelerating. This means the object is changing their velocity whether it’s their direction or speed. An object that is moving at a constant speed in a uniform circular motion, like the washer in this experiment, is accelerating because of the constant changes in direction. The constant changes in direction cause changes in the velocity even though the object is moving at a constant speed. This causes the object to be an accelerating object. The acceleration is directed towards the center of the circle. In this lab, the difference in time it took to complete 15 revolutions was recordedand compared. Hypothesis: As the radius gets bigger, the time it takes the washers to complete 15 revolutions will be greater. If the radius is bigger, it will take more time to complete one revolution.Centripetal ForceMethodsA meter of fishing line was measured and cut. One washer was tied to one end of the line. The other end of the line was pulled through the aluminum tube. Four washers were tied to the end of the line with no washers attached. 0.25 meters from the single washer was measured out and a mark was made at this point with a permanent marker. The tube was held vertically at arm’d length with the single washer hanging from the top. A stopwatch was held in the other hand to take time measurements. The tube was swung so that the washer rotated in a circle. The speed was increased until the mark made on the line was reached making the radius 0.25 meters. At this speed, the time it took to make 15 revolutions was measured and recorded in Table 1. A new mark was made at 0.40 meters, and the same steps were followed. The last mark was made at 0.15 meters and the same steps were followed again.ResultsWhen the radius was 0.25 meters, the time it took to make 15 revolutions was 5.69 seconds, or 0.38 seconds for each revolution. The expected value for each revolution was 0.502 seconds, so there was a percent error of 24.3%. When the radius was 0.40 meters, the time it took to complete 15 revolutions was 0.55 seconds, or 0.55 seconds for each revolution. The expected value for each revolution was 0.645 seconds, so there was a percent error of 14.7%. When the radius was 0.15 seconds,the time it took to complete 15 revolutions was 4.62 seconds, or 0.31 seconds. The expected value for each revolution was 0.389 seconds, so there was a percent error of 20.3%.DiscussionThe smaller radius of 0.15 meters took less time to complete a full revolution and less time to complete 15 revolutions than the other two trials. The largest radius of 0.40 meters took the most time to complete a full revolution and the most time to complete 15 revolutions. The centripetal force of an object is affected by physical quantities such as the object’s mass, the object’s speed, and the object’s distance from the center, or radius. The expected values and measured values are a little different. This may have come from the acceleration time and the timing. The percent error was the smallest for the 0.40 meter radius, and the largest for the 0.25 meter radius.Errors for this lab may have come from the stop watch not being started and stopped at the exact moment they should have been started and stopped. The buttons on the the stop watch may have been sticking and caused the time to not start or stop at the correct time. The lines marked on the fishing line may not been exactly 0.25, 0.40, and 0.15 meters from the single washer. The radius also maynot have been kept at the exact spot during all 15 revolutions.Centripetal ForceReferencesUniform Circular Motion. (n.d.). Retrieved May 23, 2018, from http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/circmot/ucm.cfmCentripetal