Centripetal Acceleration

Purpose:
The purpose of the lab was to see the relationship between angular speed and the centripetal acceleration for rotating objects.

Equipment Used:
[picture of set up]There was a turn table that would be put spun at constant speed. An accelerometer was on the table to measure the centripetal acceleration. Stopwatches were used to time the period of the table.

Data collected:
The values for the centripetal acceleration were taken for several velocities of the table and the time it took for the table to turn completely three times was recorded at each velocity as well. The radius of the table was recorded as well to compare the reliability of the model that will be created.

Calculations:
a=rw² is the relationship between centripetal acceleration and angular speed. The angular speed is calculated by taking the time it took for the wheel to make three full rotations and dividing it by three. That is the period and dividing 2pi by the period gives the angular speed. There should be a linear graph when the angular speed squared is graphed against centripetal acceleration with a slope of the radius.

graph of acceleration versus squared angular speed

Conclusion:
The measured value for the radius was 19cm and the slope of the graph was .1813, which is in meters. Converting meters to centimeters is 18.13 centimeters. The two values are very close so the relationship built is a reliable one.

Sincereley,

Swaggy C