Centripetal force of an object swinging

AI Thread Summary
To find the centripetal force and velocity of an object swung on a string, use the equation V = d/t, where d is the radius of 0.5 meters and t is the time for one complete rotation. The centripetal force can be calculated using Fc = m(v^2/r), where m is the mass of the object and r is the radius. The relationship between centripetal force and velocity will yield a parabolic graph when plotting Fc against v, while plotting Fc against v^2 will produce a straight line. This is due to the constant relationship defined by the equations, confirming the expected graph shapes. Understanding these concepts is crucial for accurately analyzing the motion of the object.
JWest
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I have to find the centripetal force and velocity of an object being swung around on a string that is attached to a weight (starting at 200 grams up to 1100 grams). The length of the string (radius) that is swinging the object is .5 meters. I have the times for each mass (200g-1100g). How would I approach this problem? To find the velocity, would I use the equation V=d/t, where "d" is the .5 meters and "t" is the time it takes for the object to be swung around once, or should I use the equation Fc=m(v^2/r), where "Fc" is the weight (Fg), mass is the weight, and radius is the string distance of .5 meters? Plus, I need to make 2 graphs the data where "Fc" is the y-axis and "v" is the x-axis and it has to be a parabola and "Fc" is the y-axis and "v^2" is the x-axis and it has to be a straight line like this - /. Can anyone help me?
 
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JWest said:
I have to find the centripetal force and velocity of an object being swung around on a string that is attached to a weight (starting at 200 grams up to 1100 grams). The length of the string (radius) that is swinging the object is .5 meters. I have the times for each mass (200g-1100g). How would I approach this problem? To find the velocity, would I use the equation V=d/t, where "d" is the .5 meters and "t" is the time it takes for the object to be swung around once, or should I use the equation Fc=m(v^2/r), where "Fc" is the weight (Fg), mass is the weight, and radius is the string distance of .5 meters? Plus, I need to make 2 graphs the data where "Fc" is the y-axis and "v" is the x-axis and it has to be a parabola and "Fc" is the y-axis and "v^2" is the x-axis and it has to be a straight line like this - /. Can anyone help me?

You can figure out V from the circumference of the circle divided by the amount of time it took the object to go around once. From there it's pretty much straightforward.

The graph being a parabola also makes perfect sense since the F(v) of Fc is v^2/r where 1/r is a constant meaning the vertical stretch.

The graph is a line when F(v^2) of Fc since the slope will be 1/r and again is a constant, which implies that the graph is a line.
 
And v^2 is just the velocity squared? I didn't get the parabola for the Fc vs. V graph.
 
JWest said:
And v^2 is just the velocity squared? I didn't get the parabola for the Fc vs. V graph.

You should... the graph is suppose to be F(v) = v^2/.5 where F(v) = Fc

Say v = 1 then F(c) = 2
...2 ......8
...3......18
...-1......2
...-2.....8
...-3......18

If you continue in this fashion and plot the points, it will be a parabolic. Even graph this on a graphing calculator with x^2/.5...
 
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