Assessment of the Gravitational Acceleration of a

Hanging Mass in a Rotating System

Mr. Gabriel M. Aquino
1
, Mr. Dean Karlo D. Bardeloza
2
,
Mr. Christopher Kyle M. Siongco
3
, Mr. Shawn Anthony G. Zabat
4

Student,

Electronics, Computer and Communications Department
Ateneo de Manila University
Quezon City, Philippines
1
gabrielaquino566@gmail.com
2
dk_bardeloza@yahoo.com.ph
3
ckms1231@yahoo.com.ph
4
cm_punk08@yahoo.com


AbstractThis experiment aims to evaluate the gravitational
acceleration of a hanging mass connected to a rotating system.
The system consists of the hanging mass attached to a string, in
which the string passes through a small tube-like object. The
other end of the string has another mass attached to it, and by
holding the tube-like object, a person can rotate the other mass
horizontally. The weights exert a tension force in the string and
in the system. A total of five trials are made in the experiment,
with each trial consisting of making a total of twenty (20)
rotations with the other mass, and with varying lengths of string
from the rotating mass to the point of rotation (the small tube).
After the experiment, data regarding the period of rotation of the
mass is recorded along with other necessary measurements. The
values taken for the gravitational acceleration are compared with
the theoretical value 9.8 m/s
2
, and the statistical error for the
experiment is calculated to be 18.31% at maximum and 12.99%
at minimum.
Keywordsgravitational acceleration, rotational motion,
hanging weight, tension, rotating system
I. INTRODUCTION
One of the fields in kinematics and dynamics is rotational
motion, which involves rotating or spinning physical bodies.
The principles of linear and rotational motion are closely
associated and related to each other. Rotational motion is
defined as the movement of a certain body characterized by a
circular path of motion instead of a straight line, as opposed to
linear or translational motion. Specifically, an object is in
rotational motion if every point mass contained in the physical
body moves around a common axis in a circular path.
[1]

Rotational systems involve these principles, and may also
consist of not only elements that represent rotational motion,
but also translational motion. The hanging weight connected to
a rotating weight via a string is an example of a rotating system
with correlated non-rotational elements. The tension force,
which is the force acting along the string and characterized as
stretching the string, is exerted by the objects connected to the
string.
[2]
The gravitational acceleration, which is involved with
the weight and the tension force, is the acceleration of the
object caused by attractive force of a body (in this case, the
Earth).
[3]

The principles and concepts of rotational and translational
motion is the very essence of kinematics and dynamics, and
various fields in physics branch out from these primary
elements. Applications of rotational motion in real life has a
wide scope and variety, ranging from roller coasters and
carousels in amusement parks, production and manufacturing
of vehicles, hardware tools like wrenches, drills, etc.
[4]
Further
applications involving other fields like fluid mechanics, such as
in water mills
[5]
and windmills
[6]
and astronomy, through the
study of planetary motion, orbits, and satellites.
[7]

This experiment intends to evaluate the gravitational
acceleration of a hanging weight connected to a rotating
system. Data will be acquired through observation of the
rotation of the other mass and manipulation of the radius of
rotation.
II. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Evaluating the Gravitational Acceleration
The system is made to rotate manually by hand, and with
the use of the hanging weight, the tension controls and makes
the rotating system stable. The magnitude of tension force
present in the string is equal for both the hanging weight and
the rotating mass, which is represented by

where m is the mass of the object, and a is the objects
acceleration. For the hanging weight, the acceleration is just the
acceleration due to gravity g. On the other hand, for the
rotating mass, the acceleration present is the radial acceleration
a
rad
, due to the fact that it is in circular motion. The radial
acceleration can be calculated by using

(2)
where v is the velocity of the object, and r is the radius of the
circular motion. Additionally, since the mass is rotating, it has
an angular velocity . The angular velocity has a relationship
with the linear or tangential velocity v of the object defined by

The angular velocity can also be expressed and calculated in
terms of the time period of rotation. This relationship is
characterized as

where T is the time period of rotation of the object. By using
the relationship of the tension forces of the hanging and
rotating weight, the gravitational acceleration g present in the
hanging weight can be calculated through manipulation of the
given formulas above, which results in

where m is the mass of the rotating mass and M is the mass of
the hanging weight. The values calculated using this formula
will be considered as the experimental gravitational
acceleration g
exp
.
B. Rotating System Diagram and Conditions


Fig. 1. Free-Body Diagram of the Rotating System (M is the hanging
weight, m is the rotating weight, r is the radius of the circular motion,
and FT is the tension force)
The experiment involved a rotating system consisting of a
hanging weight and a rotating weight. The two are connected
by a string, which passes through a small short tube. The
system is manually rotated by hand, with the person holding
on to the tube so that it will not affect the tension forces
present in the string. The weights produce tension forces that
control the entire system. Each of the trials consisted of
varying lengths of the string from the rotating weight to the
point of rotation, which is simply the radius of circular motion
of that weight. External factors in the experiment such as air
resistance disrupting the hanging weight or the rotating
weight, and/or friction in the string and the small tube are
neglected.
C. Theorems for the Gravitational Acceleration
The aim of the experiment is to evaluate and compare the
gravitational acceleration g of the hanging weight with the
acceleration dues to the gravitational force of the Earth. The
value acquired for the gravitational acceleration in the
experiment will be the experimental value g
exp
. These values
will then be compared to the theoretical gravitational
acceleration g of the hanging weight, which is 9.8 m/s
2
. As
such, a desirable result is for the experimental value of the
gravitational acceleration of the hanging weight to be
approximately equal to the theoretical value, resulting to

. (6)
III. METHODOLOGY
A. Method of Measurement
To be able to measure the data needed for the experiment,
we first created a proper set-up of the materials that were to be
used for the experiment. The string was run through the center
of the glass tubing. On one end of the string, the end beneath
the glass tubing, the set of weights were attached. On the other
end, the one extending beyond the tubing, the rubber stopper
was attached. The rubber stopper served as the hanging mass
for the system, and it, along with the set of weights at the other
end, created tension in the string. The length of the end to be
rotated (the end of the rubber stopper), to the point of rotation,
the glass tubing, was adjusted between trials.
B. Instruments

Fig. 2. Instruments used in the experiment (rotating system, meter stick,
masking tape, and stopwatch)
[8] [9] [10]
For our experiment, certain instruments were used to obtain
our data. These include a piece of masking tape, string, glass
tubing, a set of weights, a rubber stopper, a meter stick and a
stopwatch. First of all, the masking tape was used as a guide to
see if the glass tubing is set at its proper height. This was
attached to the string. The string is where the rubber stopper
and the set of weights were connected at each end. The glass
tubing is also connected in between the rubber stopper and the
set of weights. This glass tubing was also used as a guide to
know the radius of the rotation. The set of weights, hanging at
one point of the string, is used as a gravitational force pulling
the string down. On the other hand, the rubber stopper,
connected to the other end, was the object rotated. The meter
stick was used to measure the length of string to be used as the









radius of circular motion of the rubber stopper. Finally, a
stopwatch was used to measure the time it took to make twenty
rotations right after the top end of the glass tubing hits the
bottom end of the masking tape.
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
A. Tables and Graphs
After the five trials in the experiment are performed, the
data has been recorded. The rotation of the system is observed
and the necessary data is measured. The masses of the hanging
and rotating weights are fixed at 0.0847 kg and 0.0371 kg
respectively for every trial. The radius of the circular motion is
manipulated and differs per trial. The system is made to rotate
for a total of twenty times, and from that the time period of the
rotating system is calculated. The data is shown as follows,
along with the varying radii of circular motion.
TABLE I. DATA FOR TIME PERIOD OF ROTATION
Trial Data for the Rotating System

Radius (in m) Time Period (in s)
1 0.3 0.7875
2 0.35 0.8425
3 0.4 0.9295
4 0.45 0.9685
5 0.5 1.0215


Fig. 3. Graph of Time Period against the Radius of Circular Motion

The table shows that as the radius r increases, the time
period of rotation T also increases. It can be said that the
relationship of the radius and the time period is that they are
directly proportional to each other. The graph depicts the
behavior of the curve represented by this relationship.
Fig. 4. Graph of Time Period per Trial
Additionally, the values of the time period of rotation T are
graphed in Fig. 4 with respect to the number of the trial for
clarity. It further implies that with every succeeding trial, the
time period increases, which is due to the increase in the radius
r as shown in the previous graph.
For measuring additional information, the values for the
angular velocity can be calculated using the data in Table I.
Using formula (4) to compute the angular velocity for each
trial, the data are shown as follows.
TABLE II. DATA FOR ANGULAR VELOCITY PER TRIAL
Trial Data for the Rotating System

Angular Velocity (in rad/s)
1 7.979
2 7.458
3 6.76
4 6.488
5 6.151


0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
T
i
m
e

P
e
r
i
o
d

(
i
n

s
)


Radius (in m)
Graph of Time Period of Rotation with Corresponding
Radius
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1 2 3 4 5
T
i
m
e

P
e
r
i
o
d

(
i
n

s
)


Trial
Graph of Time Period of Rotation per Trial
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1 2 3 4 5
A
n
g
u
l
a
r

V
e
l
o
c
i
t
y

(
i
n

r
a
d
/
s
)

Trial
Graph of Angular Velocity per Trial
Fig. 5. Graph of Angular Velocity per Trial
The table shows that the angular velocity of the rotating
weight decreases per succeeding trial. This implies that as the
time period of rotation T increases, the angular velocity
decreases. The relationship of the two values is being inversely
proportional to each other, which is also confirmed by (4),
given that T is the only variable. The graph shows the behavior
of the curve values of the angular velocity for each trial.
Subsequently, the linear or tangential velocity v of the
rotating weight can be calculated using the data in Table II and
the relationship of angular and linear velocity as stated in (3).
The data calculated for the tangential velocity are shown as
follows.
TABLE III. DATA FOR TANGENTIAL VELOCITY PER TRIAL
Trial Data for the Rotating System

Tangential Velocity (in m/s)
1 2.3937
2 2.6103
3 2.704
4 2.9196
5 3.0755


Fig. 6. Graph of Tangential Velocity per Trial
The table shows that the tangential velocity v increases per
succeeding trial. The graph depicts the behavior of the curve
for the values of the tangential velocity v of the rotating
weight. There is no definite proportionality for the tangential
velocity v in this situation since it depends on the radius of
circular motion r and the angular velocity , which are both
variables in the experiment.
Furthermore, using the data in Table III, the values for the
radial acceleration a
rad
can be calculated. As per the formula
stated in (2), the values for the radial acceleration a
rad
are as
follows.
TABLE IV. DATA FOR RADIAL ACCELERATION PER TRIAL
Trial Data for the Rotating System

Radial Acceleration (in m/s
2
)
1 19.099
2 19.468
3 18.279
4 18.942
5 18.917


Fig. 7. Graph of Radial Acceleration per Trial
As shown in the table, the values of the radial acceleration
vary per trial. This implies that there are some fallacies dues to
inaccurate measurements or external factors, since the radial
acceleration must be theoretically constant.
The primary objective of the experiment, the experimental
value of the gravitational acceleration of the hanging weight
g
exp
is calculated using the formula in (5). The information
required is located in Table I, which is the time period of
rotation T. The data are shown as follows.
TABLE V. DATA FOR GRAVITATIONAL ACCELERATION
Trial Data for the Rotating System
Gravitational Acceleration (in m/s
2
)
1 8.365

2 8.527

3 8.006

4 8.296

5 8.434


The values acquired in Table V are treated as the
experimental values for gravitational acceleration of the
hanging weight g
exp
. The theoretical value for the gravitational
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
1 2 3 4 5
T
a
n
g
e
n
t
i
a
l

V
e
l
o
c
i
t
y

(
i
n

m
/
s
)

Trial
Graph of Tangential Velocity per Trial
17.6
17.8
18
18.2
18.4
18.6
18.8
19
19.2
19.4
19.6
1 2 3 4 5
R
a
d
i
a
l

A
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
n

(
i
n

m
/
s
2
)

Trial
Graph of Radial Acceleration per Trial
acceleration is then compared to the values for g
exp
, as stated in
(6). The graph of data is shown as follows.
Fig. 8. Graph of Experimental and Theoretical Linear Mass Density per Trial
Subsequently, the statistical error is calculated using the
formula

|

where g is the theoretical gravitational acceleration with a
value of 9.8 m/s
2
, and g
exp
is the experimental gravitational
acceleration. The data calculated are shown as follows.
TABLE VI. DATA FOR STATISTICAL ERRORS
Trial Data for the Rotating System
Statistical Error (in %)
1 14.64%

2 12.99%

3 18.31%

4 15.35%

5 13.94%


B. Some Common Mistakes
Several errors were committed during the experiment
caused a bit of a hindrance to the gathering of our results. One
of which is the setups exposure to wind coming from the
electric fans mounted to the ceiling or the wind coming from
the windows. This made the rotation of the rotating system
disrupted and chaotic. Also, the rotation of the rubber stopper
was not moving on a smooth angle, meaning its angle was not
stable at a right angle or 90 during the rotation. The tube and
the masking tape may also cause a small amount of friction that
may have affected the rotation of the system. Additionally, by
human error via the operator of the system, the data gathered
might be slightly inaccurate because of the instability of the
system.
V. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
A. Conclusion
As seen in Table I, we can see that the radius of the system
is somewhat directly proportional to the time per rotation. We
can say that the with every succeeding trial, the time period
increases, which is due to the increase in the radius r as shown
in the previous graph (see Fig. 4). It is shown (see Fig. 5) that
the angular velocity of the rotating weight decreases per
succeeding trial. This implies that as the time period of rotation
T increases, the angular velocity decreases and it holds an
inversely proportional relationship with each other, as seen in
formula (4). Furthermore, the tangential velocity v increases
per trial, Fig. 6 shows the behavior of the curve for the said
values of tangential velocity v of the rubber stopper. Evaluating
the said values, and tangential velocity v, with the help of the
formula (5) we can see the results on Table V. The discrepancy
is caused by the radial acceleration which, as seen in Fig. 7, is
not constant.By the radial acceleration not having a constant
value indicates that there have been some errors brought by
miscalculations of factors that have not been included in the
experiment.
B. Recommendations
For students that would seek to do evaluate the redo the
said experiment, it would be best to try rotating the rubber
stopper by holding it down on tube with your thumb then
slowly bring its speed down until you can feel on your thumb
that there is no longer a pull exerted by the weight with
respect to rotational speed and release the hold on the string
then maintain the current angular speed. By doing so, you can
be sure that there would be less chance that it would change in
speed, having angular acceleration. Also check if there is no
knot in the string that directly touches the tube. If there is
some then there would be effect on the angular speed that the
rubber stopper must sustain which would then bring about a
greater error margin. Of course constantly check the set-up
and stop from time to time to see if it functions as it should.

VI. REFERENCES
[1] "Rotational Kinetics." SparkNotes. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. < http://www
.sparknotes.com/physics/rotationalmotion/rotationalkinetics/section1.rht
ml>.
[2] "Tension Force." The Physics Classroom. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/newtlaws/u2l2b.cfm>.
[3] "Acceleration due to Gravity." eTutorPhysics. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <
http://www.etutorphysics.com/glossary.html>.
[4] Real-life Circular Motion (?) Yahoo! Answers. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081018222759AAt5W
zd>.
[5] The Physics of a Water Wheel. The Physics of a Water Wheel. Web.
24 Feb. 2013. <http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/211_fall2010.web.dir/
Brooks/water-wheel-physics.html>.
[6] Principle of Physics involved in Windmill (?) Yahoo! Answers. Web.
24 Feb. 2013. <http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=
20061103205731AAbzrJ9>.
[7] Astronomy. The Free Dictionary. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. < http://
www.thefreedictionary.com/astronomy>.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1 2 3 4 5
G
r
a
v
i
t
a
t
i
o
n
a
l

A
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
n

(
i
n

m
/
s
2
)

Trial
Graph of Gravitational Acceleration per Trial
Experimental Theory
[8] The Clock is Ticking: The Final Days of PsTL 1082. Photo. PsTL
1082: Integrated Learning in the Sciences/Anatomy & Physiology. Web.
24 Feb 2013. <http://blog.lib.umn.edu/trite001/pstl1082anatomy/>.
[9] Meter Stick. Photo. Office Depot. Web. 24 Feb 2013. <http://
www.officedepot.com/a/products/279832/Westcott-Meter-Stick/>.
[10] Scott Masking Tape. Photo. Parhiz KalaMehr Trading Co. Web. 24
Feb 2013. <http://www.kalamehr.com/en/products.aspx?ID=12>.