Lab Assignment 7: Circular Motion
InstructoràOverview
Circular motion is an integral part of our everyday lives. We experience circular
motion when we leave highways on cloverleaf exits and on amusement park
rides. Countless systems and devices leverage circular motion. We will discuss
real-world applications in this module’s discussion. In this lab, you will directly
experiment with uniform circular motion and quantify the behavior of a simple
system. To execute the lab, you’ll synthesize your knowledge and experience
with free-body diagrams and Newton’s second law.
In this lab, you will create a simple system of two different masses connected by
a piece of fishing line. Here’s the twist: The fishing line is threaded through a
tube. You will rotate the tube and achieve an equilibrium situation where the
lower mass is vertically stationary. You will then use your knowledge of circular
motion to analyze the situation.
This activity is based on Lab 8 of the eScience Lab kit.
Take detailed notes as you perform the experiment and fill out the sections
below. This document serves as your lab report. Please include detailed
descriptions of your experimental methods and observations.
Experiment Tips:

ake sure you use fishing line instead of string for the experiment. Can you
guess why?
e careful when you rotate the mass. Be aware of your surroundings so
nothing is inadvertently hit by the rotating mass.
nlist the aid of a partner to time your experiments.
Date:
Student:
Abstract
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Physics I
Introduction
Material and Methods
Results
Data table:
Radius (meters)
0.25
0.40
0.15
Time for 15 revs
Period (sec)
Theoretical Period (sec)*
*Complete this column after performing the calculation in question 5 below.
Based on your results from the experiment, please answer the following
questions:
1. Draw a circle to represent the path taken by your rotating mass. Place a
dot on the circle to represent your rotating washer. Add a straight line from
the dot to the center of the circle, representing the radius of rotation (the
string). Now label the direction of the tangential velocity and the centripetal
force.
2. Here is a diagram of our experimental situation:
m1 R
m2
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Physics I
Please add vectors to create a free-body diagram. Assume that m1 is
rotating at a speed v with a constant radius R.
The following forces should be included in your free-body diagram:
•
”ension in the string
Centripetal force on the rotating mass
Gravitational force on the hanging mass
Hint: Each mass experiences the tension in the string. The string tension
ultimately cancels out when you solve Newton’s equations of motion for
both masses.
3. From your free-body diagram, write the sum of the forces experienced by
mass m1. From your free-body diagram, write the sum of the forces
experienced by mass m2.
(For the equation for mass m1, use the following relations to replace the
speed, v: v = ?R, where R is the radius of rotation ? = 2?/T, where T is the
period of rotation.)
In question 4 you will solve the two above equations to obtain the period of
the rotating system in terms of the radius of rotation and the two masses,
m1 and m2.
4. Solve the above equation for the period, T.
5. Now let’s look at the special case of our experiment: 4m 1 = m2. Show that
our general expression for the period T becomes:
T=
? 2R
g
Using this expression for the period, fill in the theoretical period in the
results table.
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Physics I
6. How did the period of rotation vary as you changed the radius? How does
the angular frequency change?
7. Were your experimental values close to the theoretical values? How could
you improve the experiment to reduce error?
Conclusions
References
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Physics I

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