Discussion and conclusion

As discussed earlier in the Theory section, the slope of the graph of Fc against ac should be numerically
equal to the mass of the object m.

Here are the values of the slope for each value of r as found out previously in the Observations and
Results section:

r = radius of circular motion slope

0.1725 0.456
0.2215 0.400
0.1595 0.433

0.456+0.400+0.433
Mean of slope = 3
=0.430

Mass of object = 0.454 g

0.430−0.454
Deviation from true value = ∗ 100% = -5.29%
0.454

Rearranging our original equation 𝐹𝑐 = 𝑚(𝜔2 𝑟) and replacing 𝑟 with (𝑟 ′ + 𝑅) gives:

𝐹 𝐹
𝑚 = 𝜔2𝑐𝑟 = 𝜔2 (𝑟𝑐′ +𝑅)

∆𝑚 ∆𝐹𝑐 2 ∆𝜔 2 (∆𝑟′)2 +(∆𝑅)2 0.25 2 0.005 2 (5.0∗10−5 )2 +(5.0∗10−4 )2

Thus, = √( ) +2( ) + (𝑟 ′ +𝑅)2
= √( ) + 2( ) + (0.0115+0.173)2
=0.0314…
𝑚 𝐹𝑐 𝜔 8 10.1

This means that the acceptable % deviation for this experiment is 3.14%, which is smaller than
the %deviation obtained from the experiment (5.29%).

Conclusion: The results of the experiment are inconsistent with Newton’s Second Law which means that
the experiment was a failure.

We shall now look at some potential problems with the experiment and suggest some solutions:

Potential problems Suggested solutions

It is hard to keep the stand rotating at a uniform Use an electric motor whose speed is adjustable
speed by hand to rotate the stand
Human reaction time might have affected the Use a light gate together with appropriate
timing results software to measure the period of rotation
The spring providing centripetal force was not Use a longer piece of string so that the height of
horizontal the mass above the lab bench can be adjusted