Physics write up
Raw Data
Experiment A
Investigating the relationship between orbital period and the radius of the circular
orbit with a constant centripetal force
Mass Of Weight
50.0
/ g ± 0.1 g
Mass Of Rubber Bung
18.60
/ g ± 0.01 g
Radius Of Circular Orbit Time for 20 Revolutions/s ± 0.01s
/ cm ± 0.01cm
Length Increasing Length Decreasing
25.10 11.90 11.93
44.90 16.00 15.67
59.70 19.41 18.90
64.60 18.29 18.35
84.30 21.15 22.03
Observation
As the orbital radius increased the system in circular motion was going slower and
slower. Therefore, it became increasingly easier to count the number of revolutions as
well as stop the stop clock when all the 20 revolutions were made.
When rotating the system, it was difficult to keep the rotating system perfectly horizontal.
Also as the experiment progressed, the experimenters hand became tired making it
difficult to perform the rotation.
Experiment B
Investigating the relationship between orbital period and the centripetal force on the
body for a constant orbital radius
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Jacob Yambasu
Physics write up
Observation
As the weights were increased the system in circular motion was going faster and faster.
Therefore, it became increasingly difficult to count the number of revolutions as well as
stop the stop clock when all the 20 revolutions were made.
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Jacob Yambasu
Physics write up
Mass Of Load / g
50.0 Centripetal
± 0.1 g
Force 0.4905
/N
Mass Of Rubber Bung
18.60 ±0.001 N
/ g ± 0.01 g
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Jacob Yambasu
Physics write up
Experiment B :
Radius Of Circular
Orbit 64.60
/ cm ± 0.05cm
Mass Of Rubber Bung
18.60
/ g ± 0.01 g
Time for 20
Revolutions/s
Mass Of ±0.01s
Centripetal Average Period , Relative
Mass Of Load Period-2 Uncertainty
Force Time For 20 T uncertainty
Weights / g / kg 1÷T in Period-2
/N Revolutions /s ± in Period ,
± 0.1 g ±0.0001 s-1
±0.001 N Length Length /s ± 0.01s 0.0005s T
kg
Increasin Reducin
g g
50.0 0.05 0.491 18.29 18.33 18.31 0.9155 0.000546 1.1931 0.001
70.0 0.07 0.687 15.97 15.88 15.93 0.7963 0.000628 1.577 0.002
100.0 0.1 0.981 13.47 13.44 13.46 0.6728 0.000743 2.209 0.003
130.0 0.13 1.275 11.78 11.87 11.83 0.5913 0.000846 2.861 0.005
140.0 0.14 1.373 11.47 11.69 11.58 0.5790 0.000864 2.983 0.005
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Jacob Yambasu
Physics write up
Since the mass of the attached weight provides the centripetal force, the centripetal force is given by
• Centripetal Force , FC.P = Weight of attached weight on string
= Mass of weights in kilograms × g
= Mass of weights in kilograms × 9.81
∆Period
• Relative Uncertainty in Period =
Period
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Physics write up
∆Period ∆Period
= Period2 × ( + )
Period Period
1
• Inverse Of Period, T2 =
Period 2
1
• ∆ Inverse Of Period, T2 = × (Relative Uncertainty in Period + Relative Uncertainty in Period)
Period 2
1 ∆Period ∆Period
= 2 × ( + )
Period Period Period
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Jacob Yambasu
Physics write up
1
Derivation of equation relating;
Centripetal force, mass in orbit, Orbital Radius, Orbital Period From Fundamentals
When rotating an object of mass, m in a horizontal circular motion with a orbital radius,
R at a velocity, V the centripetal force is given by ;
2
mv
F C.P
= 1
R
2π
But v = Rω and ω=
T
Where ω is the angular velocity and T is the orbital period
2πR
∴V =
T
2πR
Substituting V = in 1
T
2
2πR
F C .P
= m ÷R
T
4mπ 2 R
∴ F C .P
=
T2
Hence, we can see that the centripetal force is inversely proportional to the square of the
orbital period
1
( F C.P ∞ 2 )
T
4mπ 2 R
Also T = 2
F C .P
Hence, the square of the orbital period is directly proportional the orbital radius
(T 2∞R )
Therefore to investigate these relationships the following graphs will be plotted;
a) Orbital radius against the square of the orbital period
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www.sidney.k12.oh.us/schools/tenneb/Labs/CentripetalForce.pdf
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Jacob Yambasu
Physics write up
Processed Results
Relationship between Period and Orbital Radius
F C .P
R =T × 2 Of the form y = mx + c
4mπ 2
Where
y = Square of Period, T 2
F C.P
m , gradient =
4 mπ 2
x = Orbital Radius, R
c=0
Graph of Square of Orbital Period against of Radius of Circular Orbit
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Jacob Yambasu
Physics write up
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
rclbt,/m
fC
adiusO
R 0.1
x
-0.05 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7 0.75 0.8 0.85 0.9 0.95 1 1.05 1.1 1.15
Square of Orbital Period, T2 / s2
To judge the success in the experiment, the centripetal force obtained
using the gradient of the graph will be compared with the centripetal
force calculated from the mass of the weight.
The gradient of the best fit line calculated using the graphing software.
The gradient was 0.7435 m s-2
Therefore as
F C.P
The gradient =
4mπ 2
F C .P= Gradient × 4mπ 2
But gradient = 0.7435 m T-2 mass m = 0.01860 kg
F C . P from gradient of graph == (0.7435) × 4(0.01860)π
2
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Jacob Yambasu
Physics write up
and
F C . P from mass of weight = 9.81 × 0.05kg
= 0.4905 N
Hence percentage difference of derived centripetal force and actual measured centripetal force =
1. The line of best fit almost past through the origin as it was displaced
downwards from the origin by only 0.003 units. This could be due to a
systematic error. Also, the centripetal force derived from the gradient of the
graph varied from the actual centripetal force provided by the weights by
11.3% which is fairly accurate. Hence, with minimal error, the graph shows
that the square of the orbital period is directly proportional to the radius of
circular orbit as expected.
2. The range of coordinates were above and below the line of best fit indicating
that there was a variation of random errors in the coordinates.
3. The uncertainties from the apparatus were negligible as the error bars are not
even visible from the graph. Hence, the errors were mainly errors caused by
errors in the procedure.
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Jacob Yambasu
Physics write up
Graph of Centripetal Force Against the Inverse Square of the Orbital Period
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Physics write up
y
1.4
1.2
0.8
0.6
entripalFoc/N 0.4
C
0.2
x
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3
Inverse Square of Orbital Period, T-2 /s-2
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Jacob Yambasu
Physics write up
The gradient of the best fit line calculated using the graphing software.
The gradient was 0.4806 N s2
Therefore as
Gradient = 4mπ 2 R
Gradient
Mass, m =
4π 2 R
0.4806
Mass, m =
4π 2 (0.646)
Mass , m from gradient of graph = 0.0188
And
Mass, m from measured mass = 0.01860
• The line of best fit past 0.0790 units below the origin. This could be due to a
systematic error from experimental procedures. Also, the mass of the object in
orbit derived from the gradient of the graph varied from the actual mass of the
object in orbit by 1.1=% which is very accurate. Hence, with minimal error, the
graph shows that the centripetal force is inversely proportional to the square of
the orbital period.
• The line past directly through the first 3 coordinates but past above and below
the last 2 coordinates. This shows that random errors were reduced when the
centripetal force is lower as seen from the first 3 coordinates and the random
error was increased when the centripetal force is higher as evident from the last
2 coordinates.
• The uncertainties from the apparatus were negligible as the error bars are not
even visible from the graph. Hence, the errors were mainly errors causes by
errors in the procedure
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Jacob Yambasu
Physics write up
Conclusion
a) The relationship between the orbital period and the centripetal force is that the square
1
of the orbital period is inversely proportional to the centripetal force ( T 2 ∞ )
F C .P
as a straight line passing close to the origin was observed when F C . P was plotted
1
against 2 .
T
b) The relationship between the orbital period and the radius of the circular orbits is that
the square of the orbital period is directly proportional to the radius of the circular
orbit (T 2 ∞R ) as a straight line passing through the origin was observed when R
was plotted against T 2 .
These relationships are valid as they correctly relate to the known equation relating these
physical quantities as shown below;
4mπ 2 R
F C.P
=
T2
Possible sources of weakness and error in experiment
1.
a. The experimenter might have applied some amount of force to the rotating
system thereby by adding on to the weights to produce the centripetal
force. This may have caused a small error in the experiment.
b. The rotating system was difficult to keep horizontal. Hence, at certain
times during the experiment the rotating system was not rotating in a
circular plane but was rotating in a conical motion. Hence, this could have
lead to a systematic error.
2. As the experiment progressed, the experimenters hand became more tired and
hence could not rotate the rotating system well.
3. As seen from the experiment B, when the weights became too heavy, timing the
revolutions became difficult and thereby increased the degree of error in the time
and the final results.
Similarly in experiment A, timing the revolutions became difficult when the
orbital radius became too short and thereby increased the degree of error in the
time and the final results.( although it was not clearly evident from the graph that
these errors were significant). Also when the orbital radius became too long, it
became difficult too perform the horizontal circular rotation.
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Jacob Yambasu
Physics write up
1.
a. For perfect horizontal circular motion, a machine can be used to replace
the human experimenter. An example of one such machine is shown below
;
2
3.
2
www.sidney.k12.oh.us/schools/tenneb/Labs/CentripetalForce.pdf
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Jacob Yambasu
Physics write up
a. The mass of the weight should be 100 grams or less. This would
ensure that the rotating system rotates at a reasonable velocity that will
enable the timing of the revolutions with minimal error.
Also the range of measurements for the orbital radius should be
between 30cm and 70 cm as this would reduce the errors of the orbital
radius being too long (leading to difficulty in rotation) and of the
orbital radius being too short (leading to difficulty in timing).
b. Alternatively, a data logging apparatus can be used to record the time
for the revolutions. This would improve the accuracy as it removes the
error of the slow reaction time of the experimenter in stopping the stop
clock.
References
www.sidney.k12.oh.us/schools/tenneb/Labs/CentripetalForce.pdf
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