Centripetal force and velocity help

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around understanding the relationships between centripetal force, velocity, and radius in the context of a lab experiment involving circular motion. Participants are exploring how to graph these relationships and what shapes the graphs should take based on their experimental data.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to determine the expected shapes of graphs relating centripetal force to velocity, velocity to radius, and velocity to stopper mass. Some participants question the source of the centripetal force values and the reasoning behind using mass multiplied by gravitational acceleration. Others suggest that the relationship between centripetal force and velocity should yield a parabolic curve when plotted correctly.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively discussing the relationships and expected graph shapes, with some guidance provided on the theoretical underpinnings of the equations involved. There is an ongoing exploration of how experimental results might align with theoretical predictions, but no consensus has been reached yet.

Contextual Notes

Participants note confusion regarding the application of the centripetal force equation and the assumptions made about constants in their experiments. There is an emphasis on understanding the implications of varying mass and radius in their graphs.

physicsman2
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centripetal force (urgent)

Homework Statement


what should a centripetal force vs. velocity(speed) graph look like.
what should a velocity(speed) vs. radius(of the circle) look like.
what should a velocity(speed) vs. stopper mass graph look like.



Homework Equations


To find centripetal force, i mulitiplied the mass of the string by 9.80m/s^2
To find velocity, i divided the circumference by the period

The centripetal force in the first trial was (.1 kg)*9.80, second trial was (.2 kg)*9.80, third trial was (.3 kg)*9.80, the fourth trial (.4 kg)*9.80

The Attempt at a Solution


i am supposed to use pwreq for the first graph and pwrReg for the other two on my TI 84 to get the shape but they don't seem right.
For me, the first one was an upside down parabola, the second and third a straight line

Thank you for the help
 
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physicsman2 said:
The centripetal force in the first trial was (.1 kg)*9.80, second trial was (.2 kg)*9.80, third trial was (.3 kg)*9.80, the fourth trial (.4 kg)*9.80

Where were these values obtained?

But if the centripetal force,Fc is related to velocity,v, by the formula:

F_c =\frac{mv^2}{r} \Rightarrow F_c= (\frac{m}{r})v^2

Assuming m and r are constants, then Fc=kv2, which is a simple parabola for you to plot.
 


i am supposed to find the centripetal force and the velocity in a lab using information i got.
the centripetal force was the mass of the string multiplied by 9.80m/s^2(i have no idea why that is what our teacher gave us) and we were asked to make graphs for homework

i hope this helps a little, i just need to know the relationship illustrated in the three graphs and what shape each graph will be. I'm still trying to figure it out

thank you
 


physicsman2 said:
i am supposed to find the centripetal force and the velocity in a lab using information i got.
the centripetal force was the mass of the string multiplied by 9.80m/s^2(i have no idea why that is what our teacher gave us) and we were asked to make graphs for homework

i hope this helps a little, i just need to know the relationship illustrated in the three graphs and what shape each graph will be. I'm still trying to figure it out

thank you
rock.freak has given you the general equation for centripetal force. For part 1, with the mass and radius held constant, you get a parabolic curve when plotting F vs. V, as noted, when you rotate the stopper at various speeds. For part 2, with the the mass and force held constant, use the same centripetal force equation , and determine the type curve you should get, when rotating the stopper with a changing radius (by slowly lowering the mass) . Same again for part 3, only this time, the radius is constant, and you use different masses (which changes also the applied force, the(mass times 9.8) weight you are inquiring about, and plot the curve. You must see how closely your experimental results agree with the theoretical results.
 


thank you very much
 

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