Study of Circular Motion

Purpose of Study
In our everyday life, we experience the circular motion in several ways in
different contexts. Examples are making a sharp turn in a car on a corner,
enjoying the ride on a roller coaster, swirling a football by kicking the ball
and scoring a goal, etc. The forces associated with the circular motion, like
the centripetal and centrifugal forces, play an integral role in designing dif-
ferent objects and structures. An example of that is the optimized design
of the rear wing of a race car. This optimized design results in increased
downforce exerted by the wind that increases the frictional force between the
ground and the race car wheels and prevents the race car from flinging out
from the racetrack.
Here we are devising an experiment to determine the mass, a crucial param-
eter in the engineering designs, of a metal roller resting on a turntable. The
required tools are:

1. A turntable.

2. A clock to measure time

3. An inelastic string

4. A scale to read the magnitude of the tension in the string.

5. A linear scale to determine the distance of the metal roller from the
centre.

Procedure

The turntable is set to rotate at a particular speed. As the turntable

rotates, a tension is developed in the string that works as the centripetal

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force and prevents the metal roller from moving outwards. The thread is
attached to a scale that measures and displays the tension generated in the
string. The distance of the metal roller is varied from the centre and the
reading of the scale is noted. After collecting a set of data, each individual
value of the data set is compared with the concerned governing equation of
the centripetal force and mass of the rotating body.
The underlying model or equation that can be used to compare the ex-
periment results with the theoretical one is:
 2 
~ 4π m
F = r
T2

Where:

1. F~ = Tension in the string, the centripetal force.

2. m= Mass of the metal cylinder.

3. T = Time-period of the turn table.

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 4. ~r= Distance of the metal cylinder from the center of the turn table.

Since we can change the distance of the metal cylinder from the center of
the turntable at our will, this distance, denoted as ~r in the equation will be
our independent variable. Depending on the value of ~r, the magnitude of F~
will change. So, the tension in the string, F~ , is the dependent variable.

Data

Fig 1: Experiment Results

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Fig 2: Force vs Radius

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Analysis of the Graph
The equation of the graph is:

y = 0.1179x + 0.2370
The slope of the graph denotes the rate of change of y with respect to
x . Here the tension or the centripetal force has been plotted along the y
axis and distance of the roller from the center of the turntable is plotted
along the x axis. So the slope of the graph, 0.11790 indicates that if the
distance of the roller from the center of the turntable increases or decreases
by 1 cm, the tension in the string increases or decreases by 0.1179 Newton
(N ) respectively.
The y intercept of a graph represents the value of y for x = 0 . Hence
here the y intercept value shows that if the roller remains at the center of
the turntable, the tension in the string becomes 0.2370 Newton (N ).

Calculations
2
 
4π m
The physical model of the experiment is F~ = ~r and the linear
T2
model obtain from the experiment is y = 0.1179x + 0.2370. Comparing  2 both
4π m
the equations, it is observed that the slope of both equations are |~r|
T2
and 0.1179 respectively.
The unit of ~r used in the linear graph of the experimental result is 0 cm0 .
But in the model equation, unit of ~r is meter. To convert the unit of ~r in
the experimental graph from 0 cm0 to 0 m0 , we divide ~r by 100 and multiply
the slope 0.1179 by 100 . Thus the slope of the graph obtained from the
experiment becomes 0.1179 × 100 or 11.79.
So equating them, we will get the value of m.
 2 
4π m
r = 11.79
T2
11.79T 2
m=
4π 2
The time period values obtained in the experiment are very close to 2
seconds. So we use T = 2 in the equation to determine the value of m.

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 11.79 × (2)2
 
m=
4π 2
m = 1.195 Kg

Discussion
To conduct the experiment successfully, proper observation of the ex-
periment set-up is required. The following sources of errors may affect the
experiment and hence need to be careful about them:

1. The turntable should remain in a horizontal position throughout the

experiment. Any misalignment of the table will exert additional force
on the string and will cause inaccurate reading of the tension in the
string. A spirit level may be used to check this horizontal alignment.

2. The string should be as inelastic as possible. If the string is elastic, it

may stretch under the influence of the outward centrifugal fore exerted
by the metal cylinder. This will cause an inaccurate reading of the
radius ~r.

3. Time period should be calculated as precisely as possible. To ensure

that, a particular trial may be repeated 3-4 times and the average value
of the time period can be used for the calculation purpose.

4. To measure the values of ~r and the tension or centripetal force F~ from

the respective scales, it is recommended to keep the eye-sight in the
same plane as of the scales respectively.

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