4/1 Centripetal Force with a Motor

Purpose: To use our understanding of centripetal force and motion to predict and test a relationship between Θ and ω. 

Procedure:
We had an apparatus set up that would rotate at a certain speed. (FIGURE (1)) Attached to the top was a string with a rubber stopper at the end. We also had a ring stand with a piece of paper attached to it. The purpose of this smaller apparatus is to measure the height, h, of the rubber stopper when the apparatus is spinning. The other two values that will change each time we do the experiment are θ and r.

FIGURE (1)

 We ran the experiment 6 times and collected h and T for 10 revolutions each run. With that information we could calculate θ (FIGURE (2)) and ω (FIGURE (3)).

FIGURE (2)

FIGURE (3)

We could also calculate angular velocity using theta (FIGURE (4)):

FIGURE (4)

Conclusion:
From looking at it, the values of the predicted angular velocity and the actual angular velocity look pretty close. Another way i check the relationship between the different values was by graphing them (FIGURE (5))

FIGURE (5)

The ideal would be for the slope of the line in FIGURE (5) to be one. This shows us that we were around 37% off. Errors in this lab could come from not timing the period correctly each trial, errors in any initial calculation, or errors in measurement