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Centripetal force is related directly to velocity squared and mass, and is related

inversely to radius.

As the centripetal force increases, so does the velocity.

As the radius increases, the velocity decreases

As the mass increases, the velocity decreases..

As the radius gets bigger, Fc gets smaller. And as Fc gets bigger then the radius gets smaller.

a. the mass of the object you are whirling - heavier objects require more force
(This means that as mass increases, centripetal force will increase
proportionally; there is a 1:1 ratio.)
b. how fast you are whirling it - going faster requires more force
(The centripetal force should be directly proportional to the square of the speed.)

Considering the balancing force (Fb) as the accepted value, and the calculated centripetal force (Fc) as
the experimental value, calculate your percentage error for each trial of this experiment. Analyze the
percentage errors and other variables to identify some trends, if any.
Analysis

For experiment 7B, a rubber stopper, hooked mass, string and stopwatch were used to
measure the centripetal force involved in uniform circular motion. The one being manipulated or
the independent variable in this experiment is the hooked mass and the dependent variables are the
number of revolutions, radius, velocity, centripetal force, weight, and central acceleration. The
recorded and computed data are compared to know the trends and the relationship of the said
variables to each other.
It was found out that the centripetal force is directly proportional to the square of the
velocity, implying that a doubling of speed will require four times the centripetal force to keep the
motion in a circle. Another trend found in the results is that the centripetal force is also directly
proportional to the mass of the object. This means that the more mass in the system, the more force
is required to accelerate it. However, there is an inverse relationship between the centripetal force
and radius. This means that the smaller the length of rope (radius), the more centripetal force you
will have to apply to the rope. Another trend is about the number of revolutions. It was found out
that the number of revolutions is inversely proportional to the radius – that is the smaller the length
of the rope (radius), the more revolutions it will have. This is because the smaller radius has a
lesser circumference, so the time it takes one revolution to happen is faster compared to a bigger
radius. The results also shown that more centripetal force act on the system, the greater its central
acceleration, therefore having a direct relationship. It was also found out that when the mass
increases, the number of revolutions and the velocity also increases, hence having a direct
relationship. But when the mass increases, it decreases the radius hence having an inverse
relationship.
Another observation from the results of the experiment is that the value of the centripetal
force is close to the value of the weight hooked. If these values were compared, the difference
between the two is 1.15% (from 175g mass) and 0.123% (from 200g mass). The calculation
showed no significant difference therefore, it can be said that magnitude of the weight of the object
is equal or close to the magnitude of its centripetal force. This is because the force of gravity on
the hooked masses supplies the tension in the string which in turn supplies the centripetal force
that keeps the body rotating.

Conclusion

From this experiment, the students were able to study the centripetal force involved in
uniform circular motion. From the results collected, they were able to prove that their prediction
is correct. Their prediction, which they based it from the formula of the centripetal force, and their
results had shown that the centripetal force is directly proportional to the mass of the object,
directly proportional to the square of its velocity, and inversely proportional to the radius.
There are a few possible reasons why the percent error for the computer-based experiment
is a little high. The students tried to minimize the error by continuously repeating the experiment
from the start until the error becomes low. But they are getting the same results so they concluded
that the majority of the error comes with the Force Sensor. There could have been some technical
problem in the sensor that it is not working really well. Aside from the sensor, there could have
been an error in calibrating it. This includes inaccurate measurement of the bob’s width. Other
possible factors are (1) the tare button was not pressed before calibration (2) inaccurate
measurement of the radius (3) and lastly, there could have been an unwanted force present such as
air resistance and friction

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