Aweaver+Centripetal+Force+Lab

Centripetal Force Lab:

__**Preliminary Questions:**__
1.Circular motion at constant speed is not a natural state of motion because the object requires an outside force to act on the system in order to maintain motion. 2. According to Newton's Second Law force is equal to the differential change in momentum per unit time or acceleration. 3. Centripetal force is a force directed towards the center of circular motion.

__**Analysis:**__
The centripetal force needed to keep the object moving in a circle is supplied by the tension in the string which is caused by the mass placed on the end of the string and is also affected by velocity. The centripetal force of the system is pointing towards the center of the circle. We found that if you increase the velocity of the stopper, the force needed to maintain the stopper's motion also increases. Also, if the speed of revolution is doubled, the centripetal force would be expected to be 4 times greater because the centripetal force is directly related to velocity squared. Overall, we found that as the velocity of the stopper increased so did the centripetal force.

__**Application:**__
In the case of a car driving on a circular track, static friction would provide the centripetal force necessary for the car to go around a circular off ramp at constant speed. If the car was driving at a speed which required a centripetal force the road could not supply, it would cause the car to continue driving straight on its path and drive off the road. If the car doubled it's speed it would require 4 times the original centripetal force to complete the turn.This is because when velocity doubles centripetal force increases 4 times.