Scribd
Upload
13 views4 pages

Circular Motion Lab

The Circular Motion Lab outlines a procedure to measure the mass of an unknown object using circular motion principles, with multiple trials to ensure accuracy. Data collected includes lengths, radii, and average times, which are used to calculate the mass based on the relationship between radius and time squared. The lab also discusses potential errors and incorporates questions related to the experiment and broader astronomical concepts.

Uploaded by

andrew18170087733
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
13 views4 pages

Circular Motion Lab

The Circular Motion Lab outlines a procedure to measure the mass of an unknown object using circular motion principles, with multiple trials to ensure accuracy. Data collected includes lengths, radii, and average times, which are used to calculate the mass based on the relationship between radius and time squared. The lab also discusses potential errors and incorporates questions related to the experiment and broader astronomical concepts.

Uploaded by

andrew18170087733
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

By Andrew, Linda, Emily

Circular Motion Lab

Part 1: Procedure

1. Use an electronic scale to measure the quality of the rubber plug.


2. Fix one end of the string to the rubber plug.
3. Pass the other end of the string through a thin glass rod.
4. Tie the thread through the glass rod to the lock of unknown mass.
5. Hold the whole system upright and turn the glass rod by hand to make the
lock move in a circular motion.
6. Fixed the number of turns of the movement, and recorded the time of the
movement to a specific number of turns.
7. Fix the radius of motion and repeat the experiment for three times.
8. Change the radius of motion and repeat the experiment for three times.
9. Determine the error value, substitute into the calculator for calculation and
drawing.

Part 2: Data Table and Calculation

Table 1: Summary of lab data

Trial Length (l) Radius (r) Average Time (t)


1 165mm±0.5mm 137.5mm±0.5mm 14.85s±0.005s
2 80.0mm±0.5mm 64.0mm±0.5mm 11.25s±0.005s
3 60.0mm±0.5mm 44.0mm±0.5mm 9.93s±0.005s
4 200mm±0.5mm 166.7mm±0.5mm 15.94s±0.005s
Take Trail 1 as an example, we measure the length of the cord l. We also take videos of the
spinning so we can use the video and measure the ratios between the length and the radius to
get the radius of our spin. After that we repeat the same trial for three times and we find the
average time we use for each trial to minimize errors.
After that, we transport the units of radius, from millimeters to meters. As the time t is the
total time for 20 revolutions, we divide it by 20 and square it to use it for the line of best fit.

Graph 1: Line of best fit when we use rmin and tmin.


By Andrew, Linda, Emily

Graph 2: Line of best fit when we use rmax and tmax.

The two lines of best fit gives us slopes r/T2. The calculations are below.

F x  m2 a x  m2 g
mv 2
m2 g 
r
2
 2r 
m 
 T 
m2 g 
r
2
4 mr
m2 
gT 2
By Andrew, Linda, Emily

As we see, the unknown mass m2 is being expressed by constants and known


quantities such as r/T2, m, g, and π. We can plug in the values and find m2.
Considering m=32.0g±0.5g, minimum slope=0.315, and maximum slope=0.3152, the
final mass range is 40.50g ~ 40.65g.

Possible Error Source: The string may has gravity that also pulls the stopper. There
also may be a frictional force between the tube and the string which provides an
upward pulling force for the lock and the stopper. There is air resistance when we spin
the stopper, so instead of a tension force by the string, the stopper is also being
affected by a resistance force that is pointed opposite from the instant velocity
direction.

Part 3: Questions

1. How did you incorporate the downward angle of the string in the experiment into
your equations?

By measuring the length of the string L, we can know the hypotenuse of the
triangle. r is the radius of the circular motion and can be attained by doing a
comparison with L. As we have videos of the motion, we can measure how long L
and r is in the video. We also know how long L actually is and by using
proportions we can get the actual length of r without using the angle θ, that
might be a huge source of bias.
By Andrew, Linda, Emily

2. Given that Earth travels around the edge of the Milky Way at approximately
30km/s, what is the approximate mass at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy?
In the below calculation, v stands for the velocity of Earth, r stands for the distance
between Earth and the center of the Milky Way galaxy, m stands for the mass of the
Earth, M stands for the mass of the Milky way Galaxy.

v2 Mm
m G 2
r r
v 2 GM
 2
r r
GM
v2 
r
4 2 6.67  10 11 m 3 / kgs 2  M
(3  10 m / s ) 
2.5  10 4  9.46  1015 m
M  3.19  10 39 kg

You might also like