Introduction To College Physics

Centripetal Force

Topic: Centripetal force in uniform circular motion.

Preparation: Read Chapter 6, Sections 1 – 4

Purpose: To determine the centripetal force that is needed to keep

an object in uniform circular motion, and to compare the experimental
value of centripetal force to the calculated value.

Equipment: Cardboard tube, string, rubber stopper, mass hanger,

stopwatch, meter stick, mass scale

Introduction: Newton's First Law tells us that an object in equilibrium

will move with constant speed and direction. You already know that
acceleration is defined as a change of velocity. Velocity is a vector, so
that means that the magnitude can change, e.g., the object can speed
up or slow down. However, velocity also has direction, and direction is
always a straight line. If an object is traveling in a circle, the direction
of that object is changing. If the direction is changing, the velocity is
changing (even if the speed is constant), and that means that the
object is accelerating. An accelerating object always has an
unbalanced force acting on it. (Newton's First and Second Laws tell us
that.) So, there must be a force that compels an object to move in a
circle. This force is called centripetal force.

Your book discusses this in more detail in section 5.2, but the book
focuses on centripetal acceleration, rather than centripetal force. The
book gives you

for centripetal acceleration. If we combine this with Newton's Second

Law, we get
mv 2
Fc = ma =
r

Centripetal force, the force that keeps an object moving in a circular

path, is calculated as the product of the object's mass and its speed,
divided by the radius of its path.
Method: Assemble your equipment as shown:

Trial 1:
You will
hold the tube and swing the rubber stopper in a horizontal circle
around your head. Adjust the mass on the hanger until the string is
not slipping either upwards or downwards through the tube. This is
going to take some practice.

Caution:
1. The stopper must swing in a horizontal circle.
2. The circular path must remain constant.
3. Wear goggles, and BE CAREFUL. It can hurt to be hit by a
rubber stopper.
4. Do not swing the stopper with great speed. There is no need to
get it going as fast as you can.

There is a YouTube video at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RltDPcUTKQM
that will show you how this works. It is not captioned, but the audio
isn't necessary for you to see how the equipment works together.

When one person on the team has the stopper moving in a uniform
circular path, the other member of the team will use the stopwatch to
time 20 revolutions.

When the time trial is completed, carefully grasp the string where it
exits the tube while the stopper is still in motion. Measure the radius
of the path, and calculate the stopper's distance and speed. Measure
the mass of the stopper, and record the hanging mass. (Include the
mass of the hanger itself.)

Trial 2
Repeat the activity with a different mass on the hanger. Did you
increase or decrease the mass? What does that do to the centripetal
force? What do you think will happen to the motion of the stopper?
Address both the radius of the motion and the speed.

Analysis:
For both trials, calculate:

Speed
Centripetal acceleration
Centripetal force

Compare your calculated centripetal force to the weight of the hanging

mass. What do you expect to see? Should the weight of the hanging
mass be the same as the centripetal force? Why or why not? What
contributes the centripetal force to force the stopper into a circular
path? What role does friction between the string and the edge of the
cardboard tube play?