DATA ANALYSIS

Uniform circular motion is defined as the motion of a body or object in a

circle at a constant speed. As the body movies in a circle, it changes its direction
constantly. At all instances, the object or body is moving tangent to the circle. .
Since the direction of the velocity vector is the same as the direction of the object's
motion, the velocity vector is directed tangent to the circle as well.
`

Path Uniform !ircular "otion
A body moving in a circular path is accelerating. Accelerating objects are
objects which are changing their velocity # either the $magnitude of velocity
vector% or the direction of the object or body. An object undergoing uniform
circular motion is moving with a constant speed. &onetheless, it is accelerating due
to its change of direction, circular path. 'he direction of the acceleration is
inwards. 'he picture above shows this by means of vector arrow.
'he net force is the final motion characteristic for a object undergoing
uniform circular motion. 'he net force acting upon such an object is directed
towards the center of the circle. 'he net force acting upon a body in circular
motion pertains to be inward or centripetal force.
(ithout such inward force, an object will continuously move in a straight
line, never deviating from its original path or direction. )ut, with the inward net
force or centripetal force directed perpendicular to the velocity vector, the object
will always change its direction in respect with its circular motion and will undergo
an inward acceleration.
Since the object's velocity vector is constantly changing direction, the
moving object is undergoing acceleration by a centripetal force in the direction of
the center of rotation. (ithout this acceleration, the object would move in a
straight line, according to &ewton's laws of motion.
'his e*periment will deal with the two forces involving uniform circular
motion centripetal force and centrifugal force. !entripetal force and centrifugal
force is said to be the same force that acts in opposite directions. !entripetal force
is involved in the force responsible towards the center of a rotating path. +n
contrast with this, centrifugal force e*erts a force to liberate a body form its
rotating path. +n simple terms, centripetal force is the inward force while
centrifugal force is the outward force. ,or e*ample, if you are rotating a stone tied
to a thread, then the force that acts on the centre of the a*is of the rotation is the
centripetal force. !entrifugal force is that which pulls away from the middle due to
the inertia of the object. -ere the pull on the rope is the centripetal force. Another
e*ample that is seen in nature is the revolving of the moon around the earth. 'he
force of gravity between the earth and the moon is the centripetal force.
'he centripetal force depends on the mass of the object, speed of the object,
its fre.uency of rotation and the radius of the circular path along which the object
moves.
According to the theory or the &ewton/s second law of motion, the net force
is the unbalanced force. +n the case of uniform circular motion, the net force will
be the centripetal force and the acceleration along *0a*is will be the centripetal
acceleration. 'he centripetal force of can be calculated in terms of angular velocity
and fre.uency of rotation.
+n terms of angular velocity
F
c
= mr
2
+n terms of fre.uency of rotation
F
c
= m4
2
f
2
r
'hese two e.uations can be used to solve the centripetal force or the inward
forces. Such that m is the mass of the object or body, f is the fre.uency of the
rotation, r is the radius of the circular path and is the angular velocity of the
object.
'his e*periment is divided into three parts where the above factors of centripetal
force are held constant one at a time.
'his will define the centripetal force of the moving object in a circular path
that will vary depending on which factor is held constant and which factors are
variables.
Part A: Determination of Centripetal Force (with constant mass and variable
radis of rotation!
Using the apparatus given, the centripetal force of the rotating body can be
easily calculated. 'he indicator was adjusted using the mass of the hanging weights
to have a constant centripetal force. 'he apparatus was rotated and the orange
indicator must be centered in the indicator brac1et to 1eep the rotating object at its
desired radius. 'hen, the time was measures using a stopwatch. +t measures the
time it completes the ten revolutions. ,rom here, you can calculate the fre.uency
of rotation of the object.
,or this part of e*periment, the mass of the rotating body is held constant
and the radius of the trial is changed every trial. 'he mass of the rotating body is
234.5 grams and the accepted value for the centripetal force is calculated using the
mass of hanging weight multiplied to the acceleration due to gravity. 'he accepted
value for the centripetal force is 56733 dynes.
,ive trials were done to achieve high precision and accuracy among the
values recorded and calculated. 'he radiuses of the rotation are 89, 84, 8:, 87 and
23 centimeters.
Using the e.uation given, the centripetal force of the rotating body or object
can be calculated. 'he centripetal force is averaged in order to compare the value
of it to the accepted value of centripetal force. 'he average centripetal force of five
trials is 52568.23 dynes.
+n order to compare the two values, the percent difference among these
values is calculated. 'he percent difference is 8.89;. (e can conclude that the
two values of the centripetal force, calculated and accepted value, are nearly the
same, thus ma1ing it a valid centripetal force value for that certain rotating body.
Also, with the given and recorded values, we can say that it is consistent
with the theory. 'he centripetal force depends on the fre.uency of rotation, radius
of rotation and the mass of the hanging mass. <ou can easily calculate the
centripetal force if the factors $e.g. radius and mass% are already given. 'he
centripetal force and centrifugal force are e.ual ma1ing the whole system
e.uilibrium or balanced to each other.
Part ": Determination of Centripetal Force (constant radis and variable mass of
han#in# bod$!
Same apparatus will be used in this e*periment. 'he accepted value of the
centripetal force can be calculated by multiplying the acceleration due to gravity
and the mass of the hanging weight. 'he calculated value for the accepted
centripetal force is 56733 dynes. Since the radius is constant= it was set to 89 cm
throughout the three trials.
'he only difference with the part A is that the radius is held constant in 89
centimeters. 'he mass of the rotating body is changed every trial. 'he masses of
the rotating body are 234.5 g, 854.8 g, and 839.43 g.
'he indicator brac1et, once again, is adjusted depending on the mass of the
clamp0on pulley and the hanging weights. Again, this was done to have a constant
centripetal force. 'he apparatus was rotated and the orange indicator must be
centered in the indicator brac1et to 1eep the rotating object at its desired radius.
Again, the time was recorded in order for the rotating body complete 83
revolutions. (ith this, the fre.uency of rotation can be calculated. $>efer to the
?ata Sheet for the values of the fre.uency rotation%.
'hree trials were done to compare the changes of the fre.uency of rotation
every time the mass of rotating balance changes. ,rom the table of recorded time
for each trial, we can conclude that the mass of rotating body is directly
proportional to the time it ta1es to finish ten revolutions. As the mass of the
rotating body increases, the time it ta1es to finish a revolution also increases.
Same e.uations were used to calculate the centripetal force of the rotating
body. Again, the three calculated values of the centripetal force were averaged in
order to easily compare it with the accepted value, 56733 dynes. 'he average
centripetal force is @4795.2: dynes.
Again, the percent difference is calculated to compare the accepted value
and e*perimental value of the centripetal force. 'he calculated percent difference
is 88.95;.
(ith this, it can be concluded that the two values of centripetal force,
e*perimental and accepted, are nearly the same.
'hen, the recorded values solely agree with the theory that the mass of
rotating body, the radius, and the fre.uency of rotation is dependent to the
centripetal force. 'herefore, the centripetal force can be easily computed using the
radius of rotation in which the object is traveling or moving, mass of the rotating
body and the fre.uency or rotation.
Part C: Determination of mass of rotatin# bod$ (constant radis and variable
force!
Same apparatus will be used in this e*periment. ,or this part, the
radius of the rotation in which the object moves is held constant and the mass of
hanging mass in the clamp0on pulley is changed every trial. 'his is done to vary
the centripetal force and net force of the rotating body. 'he apparatus is rotated and
the orange indicator must be centered in order to 1eep the rotating object in the
desired radius. 'he time was then recorded by a stopwatch. (ith
'he centripetal is force is again calculated by multiplying the hanging mass
$varies% to the acceleration due to gravity which is 7:3 cmAs
2
. 'he computed
centripetal forces are 2@533 dynes, 6@633 dynes, @@833 dynes, 56733 dynes and
96433 dynes. 'he actual mass of the rotating body is 234.5 grams.
'he difference of this part to the Part A and ) is that instead of computing
the centripetal force, the mass of the rotating body is calculated. 'he e.uation in
solving for the mass of rotating body is
m = F
c
% 4
2
f
2
r
2
'he e.uation for calculating the mass of the rotating body was derived from
the e.uation of the centripetal force.
,ive trials were done to compare the mass of rotating body as the centripetal
force or the inward force is changed. Also, it was done to achieve high precision
and high accuracy.
'he calculated values $>efer to the ?ata Sheet% were then averaged to
compare it with the actual mass of the rotating body, which is 234.5 grams. 'he
average mass rotating body is 234.86 grams. 'he percent difference between the
accepted and e*perimental value is 3.8: ;.
(ith the minimal difference between values, we could say that the value of
the mass of rotating body agrees to the theory about the relationship of the mass of
rotating body, the fre.uency of rotation and the radius of rotation in which the
object moves.
Frther &'planation:
+f the radius and mass of the rotating body is held constant, the centripetal
force will increase if the fre.uency of the rotation is increased and will, as
e*pected, accelerate. 'he centripetal force is directly proportional to the fre.uency
of rotation.
+f the mass of the rotating body and centripetal force is held constant, the
radius of the rotation will be inversely proportional to the fre.uency of rotation.
,rom the analysis, as the radius increases, the fre.uency of rotation decreases.
CONCLUSION
Uniform circular motion involves an object moving in a circular path with a
constant speed. According to theory, an object is accelerating when it changes the
direction of its path. +n the case of uniform circular motion, the acceleration is
going inward ma1ing it in constant speed.
'he two forces involved in this situation is centripetal force and centrifugal
force. 'he difference between these two forces is the direction on which it e*erts
its force. !entripetal force is the inward force or the force heading towards the
center of the circular path. 'he centrifugal force is the out ward force of the whole
system. 'hese two must be e.ual in order for the object to have a uniform circular
motion.
'he relationship between the mass of the rotating body, fre.uency of the
rotation and the radius of rotation, and the centrifugal force is highly recogniBed.
'he centrifugal force is directly proportional to the fre.uency of rotation if the
radius and mass is held constant. 'he radius is inversely proportional to the
fre.uency of rotation of the centripetal force and mass is held constant.
+n this e*periment, the objectives, which are to .uantify the force when one
of the parameters is held constant and verify the effect of these parameters, were
meet e*tensively. + concluded that centripetal force is directly proportional to the
mass and s.uare of the fre.uency of rotastion but inversely with its radius.
+n same form, the e*periment concluded that the changes of these
parameters will greatly affect the uniform circular motion or the centripetal force
of the moving object.