BIOLOGY

PHYSICS

Centripetal Force
Investigation
Manual
CENTRIPETAL FORCE

Table of Contents Overview

In this investigation, students will observe and explore the effects
2 Overview of circular motion. Students will construct a centripetal force
2 Outcomes device and use it to find the velocity of a mass that, over a series
2 Time Requirements of trials, is subjected to incrementally increased centripetal forces.
Students must then analyze their data and explain how centripetal
3 Background
force is affected by mass and velocity.
5 Materials
6 Safety
Outcomes
6 Technology
• Describe the effect of mass on centripetal force.
7 Preparation • Calculate the velocity of an object in uniform circular motion.
8 Activity 1 • Calculate centripetal force.
8 Activity 2
10 Activity 3 Time Requirements
10 Disposal and Cleanup Preparation ...................................................................... 5 minutes
11 Data Table Activity 1: Observing Centripetal Force......................... 10 minutes
Activity 2: Effect of Mass and Velocity on
Centripetal Force .......................................... 45 minutes
Activity 3: Calculating Centripetal Force ....................... 15 minutes

Key
Personal protective
equipment
(PPE) follow photograph stopwatch
link to results and required
goggles gloves apron video submit

warning corrosion flammable toxic environment health hazard

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Background
According to Newton’s first law of motion, The product of the mass of the ball and the
inertia is the tendency of an object to resist centripetal acceleration is the centripetal force.
change to its motion unless acted upon by a
Fc = mac
net or unbalanced force. An object acted on by
balanced forces will either remain motionless or Fc = centripetal force (N) 1 N = 1 kg • m/s2
move in a straight line at a constant speed. An
unbalanced force will cause an object to accel- m = the mass of the object moving in uniform
erate or change velocity. Velocity is a vector circular motion (kg)
with both magnitude and direction. Acceleration ac = centripetal acceleration (m/s2)
is a change in an object’s velocity. An object is
accelerating if it is speeding up or slowing down An important misconception to address is
or changing direction. the notion of a centrifugal force. Centrifugal
force is an apparent force that is perceived to
When an object moves in a constant speed in a push objects moving in a circular path radially
circular path, it is said to be moving in uniform outward. Imagine riding in an automobile that
circular motion. When an object moves in makes a sudden turn. A passenger in this situa-
uniform circular motion there is a centripetal tion might feel as if there is a force pulling them
force acting on the object. A centripetal force out of the car towards the outside of the turn.
is a force acting on an object, directed toward However, if the passenger is observed from
the center of the object’s circular path. a fixed position outside the car, it is apparent
When an object moves in a circular path, there that the passenger was actually continuing on
is a tangential velocity directed 90 degrees from their original, straight path and the car turned
the radius. To satisfy the conditions for uniform
Figure 1.
circular motion, the tangential speed must be
constant.

One example of uniform circular motion is to

imagine twirling a ball or some mass on a string
in a horizontal circle. If the period (the time for
the ball to make one revolution) is constant,
then the tangential speed (vT ) is constant (see
Figure 1). However, the force of tension in
the string pulls the ball toward the circle and
constantly changes the direction of the ball.
This creates an acceleration called centripetal
acceleration. The centripetal acceleration is
directed toward the center of the circle to align
with the centripetal force.
continued on next page

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CENTRIPETAL FORCE

around them. They are not being pulled from Many of our everyday activities involve centrip-
the passenger door, the passenger door has etal force. Try spinning a bucket full of water
changed position, and is now on the outside of above your head! The water does not spill out
the turn. due to centripetal force and inertia. When race
car drivers zoom around a track, the curved
The passenger door is, in fact, now providing a
portion of the tracks banked at angles increase
centripetal force, holding the person inside the
the centripetal force on their tires due to friction
car.
to help them take those turns at high speeds.
In Figure 1, an object with mass (m) moves in Anytime you experience turning, this is centrip-
uniform circular motion. The magnitude of the etal force at play. Carnival rides, swinging on
tangential velocity (vT ) remains constant, while a swing, and the moon revolving around the
the centripetal acceleration, directed toward the Earth all need forces to keep them accelerating
center of the circular path, causes the direction centripetally.
of the object to constantly change. Note that the
tangential velocity is always at a right angle to
the direction of the centripetal acceleration.

Note: A tangent line is a line that touches,

but does not cross a curve. The tangent line
to a circle is always perpendicular to the
radius of the circle.

Note that in Figure 1, the magnitude of the

tangential velocity, represented by the length of
the arrow labeled vT , does not change; however,
the direction is altered by the centripetal force.
A person located at the position indicated
by the blue circle (m) perceives this constant
change in direction as a force directed outward
from the center of the circle, but if the centrip-
etal force were suddenly removed, the person
or the object would not move radially outward
from the circle but would continue in a direction
tangential to the circular path. In Activity 1, you
will perform a simple demonstration of a marble
undergoing this motion and will see the tangen-
tial nature of its velocity when released.

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Materials
Included in the Mechanics Module kit: Needed from the Central Materials kit:

Narrow plastic Fishing Plastic bag String Ruler Large washers

tube bobber

Plastic culture Blue marble Measuring Electronic

cup tape balance

Needed but not supplied:

• Timer
• Calculator
• Computer with spreadsheet software
• Permanent marker
• Scissors

Reorder Information: Replacement supplies

for the Centripetal Force investigation
(item number 580404) can be ordered from
Carolina Biological Supply Company.

Call: 800.334.5551 to order.

www.carolina.com/distancelearning 5
CENTRIPETAL FORCE

Safety Technology
Wear safety goggles while performing Alternate Methods for Collecting Data Using
this experiment. Digital Devices
Much of the uncertainty in physics experi-
Read all the instructions for this laboratory
ments arises from human reaction time error in
activity before beginning. Follow the instruc-
measuring the times of events. Some of the time
tions closely and observe established laboratory
intervals are very short, which increases the
safety practices, including the use of appropriate
effect of human error due to reaction time.
personal protective equipment.
Observing the experiment from a good vantage
Make sure the knots tied in the string are secure
point that removes parallax errors and recording
and perform the experiment where the spinning
measurements for multiple trials helps to mini-
bobber will not strike any other person or object
mize error; using a digital device as an alternate
while spinning or if the knot or string fails.
method of data collection may further minimize
Safety goggles should be worn during these error. Many digital devices, such as smart-
activities, which involve the movement and phones and tablets, have cameras and software
acceleration of objects. Take care during the that allow the user to pause or slow down the
execution of these activities to avoid injuring video. If you film the activity against a scale
eyes due to spinning objects. such as a tape measure, you can use your video
playback program to record position and time
Do not eat, drink, or chew gum while performing data. This can provide more accurate data and
this activity. Wash your hands with soap and may eliminate the need for multiple trials.
water before and after performing the activity.
Clean up the work area with soap and water after If the time on your device’s playback program is
completing the investigation. Keep pets and chil- not sufficiently accurate, you may download an
dren away from lab materials and equipment. app such as the following free apps:

• Hudl Technique
iOS and Android (https://www.hudl.com/
products/technique)

• SloPro
iOS (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/slopro-
1000fps-slow-motion/id507232505?mt=8)

Android (https://slopro.en.uptodown.com/
android)

Or you may upload the video to your computer.

Your operating system or software suite may
include video playback programs, or these
programs may be available for download.

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Preparation
1. Gather items listed in the materials section.
2. Read through all assigned activities carefully.
3. Clean the work space.

In Activity 2, you will construct a device to verify

the equation for centripetal force. Washers are
added to a plastic bag suspended from a string
which passes through a small, plastic tube.
The opposite end of the string is attached to a
fishing bobber, which will act as the mass under-
going uniform circular motion. The plastic tube
will allow you to hold the device and spin the
bobber in a circle. The washers in the plastic
bag act as a weight, providing a balancing force
to the tension in the string. As masses are added
to the bag, the centripetal force acting on the
bobber changes, requiring an adjustment to
either the radius or the tangential velocity. In this
experiment, the radius is kept constant; there-
fore, the velocity of the bobber must increase to
support the suspended weight as more washers
are added to the bag.

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ACTIVITY

ACTIVITY 1 ACTIVITY 2
A Observing Centripetal Force A Effect of Mass and Velocity on
Centripetal Force
1. Collect a blue marble and a plastic culture
cup from the mechanics module kit. 1. Cut a piece of string approximately 100 cm in
2. Place the cup upside down over the blue length.
marble as seen in Figure 2. 2. Using the pocket electronic balance, measure
the mass of the bobber in grams. Record the
Figure 2.
mass in Data Table 1.
3. Using a pencil or pair of scissors, create a
hole in the plastic bag at the top, beneath the
plastic seal, in the center (see Figure 3).

Figure 3.

3. Using a permanent marker, draw a dot on the

bottom of the cup near the edge.
4. Move the cup in a circular path so that the
blue marble travels around the rim of the cup.
5. While the marble is still rolling around the
perimeter of the cup, quickly lift the cup
straight up as the marble crosses the dot you
drew on the edge of the cup.
6. Observe the direction of the marble as the
4. Thread one end of the string through the hole
cup is removed.
in the plastic bag. Tie the end of the string
to itself in a double knot just above the top
Note: If possible, capture a video of the of the bag. Make sure that the string is tied
marble as the cup is removed and watch securely.
at slow speed. See the “Technology”
5. Thread the other end of the string through the
section for more information on collecting
narrow plastic tube.
data with digital devices.
6. Tie this end of the string in a double knot
through the hoop in the top of the bobber.
continued on next page

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ACTIVITY 2 continued
Make sure that the string is tied securely. To 9. Slide the plastic tube so that the end closest
access the hook, press in the red button on to the bobber is aligned with the black
the bobber. This is where the forefinger is, as marking on the string.
seen in Figure 4. 10. Make a second black mark on the string
Figure 4. at the other end of the plastic tube. This
gives a second reference point during the
activity. The overall assembly should look
like Figure 6.

Figure 6.

7. Place the center of the bobber at the 0 point

on the ruler and pull the string out to the
30 cm mark.
8. Using the marker, mark the string at the
30 cm point as seen in Figure 5. Make sure
that the mark is on both sides of the string
at the 30 cm point. This is the radius ( r ) of
the circle. Record this measurement in Data
Table 1.
11. Place one large washer in the bag. Use the
Figure 5.
balance to measure the total mass in grams
of the bag with the washer. Record the mass
in Data Table 1.
12. Hold the narrow plastic tube and begin to
swing the bobber in a horizontal circular
path above your head. The 30 cm mark
should be even with the top edge of the
narrow tube.
continued on next page

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ACTIVITY 2 continued
13. Use a timer to record (in seconds) the trial. Use the equation , where Fc is
time it takes for the bobber to make 30 the magnitude of the centripetal force, m is
revolutions. It may take some practice to the mass of the bobber, v 2 is the square of the
find a technique to accurately count the tangential velocity of the bobber, and r is the
revolutions of the bobber. Record this time in radius of the bobber’s circular path.
Data Table 1. 6. Calculate the weight of the washers.
14. Find time for one revolution by dividing the Weight = mass × acceleration due to
time measured for 30 revolutions by 30. gravity :
Record this value in Data Table 1. W = mg
15. Repeat Steps 11–14 for the other trials listed 7. Calculate the percent error between the weight
in Data Table 1. Add washers as needed for of the washers for each trial and the magnitude
each trial. of the centripetal force calculated in Step 5.
Your experimental value is the centripetal
ACTIVITY 3 force, and the theoretical value is the weight
of the washers calculated in Step 6.
A Calculating Centripetal Force
Data Analysis:
As you perform the following calculations, note
any correlation you see between the mass of the
Disposal and Cleanup
washers, the velocity, and the centripetal force. 1. Return the materials to the equipment kit.
Record all values in Data Table 1. 2. Clean up the work space.
1. Convert masses measured in grams to
kilograms by dividing by 1,000.
2. Convert lengths measured in centimeters into
meters by dividing by 100.
3. Using the radius (r ), calculate the
circumference (C ) of the circle. Recall that
C = 2πr, and that π = 3.14.
4. Calculate the tangential velocity of the
bobber. Use the equation v = _dt , where v is
the velocity, d is the circumference, and t is
the time for one revolution, or the period.
5. Calculate the centripetal force exerted on the
bobber by the tension in the string for each

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Data Table
Data Table 1.

Trial 1 2 3 4 5

Number of
Washers 1 2 3 4 5

Mass of Bag with

Washers (g)

Mass of Bag with

Washers (kg)

Mass of Bobber (g)

Mass of Bobber (kg)

Radius (cm)

Circumference (m)

Time of 30 Revolutions (s)

Time of 1 Period (t)

Velocity (m/s)

Centripetal Force

Weight of Washers

Percent Error

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 PHYSICS
Cetripetal Force
Investigation Manual

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