Experiment Description

Experiment

Experiment DL05    Centripetal Force on a Pendulum

Objectives
  • Study the centripetal force when a pendulum bob reaches the lowest position
  • Measure the centripetal force by using a force sensor
  • Obtain the theoretical centripetal force from the instantaneous speed and radius
Description
In this activity, you will use a Force Sensor and a Photogate to record the centripetal force on the pendulum at its lowest position. The Force Sensor is set zero when it is at rest in equilibrium. The change in reading represents the centripetal force.

The lowest position is indicated by the existence of data captured by the Photogate which is set to be blocked by the pendulum at the lowest position. By feeding the diameter of the pendulum as an entry data, the speed of the pendulum at the lowest position will be calculated by the computer. Therefore, the centripetal force can be calculated and compared with the reading in the Force Sensor.
Apparatus
Science Workshop 500/700/750 Interface [1]
Force Sensor [1]
Photogate [1]
pendulum bob (cylindrical in shape, radius about 3 cm) [1]
string [1]
triple-beam balance [1]
vernier caliper [1]
stand-and-clamp [1]
Experiment