The Movement of an Object During Circular Motion

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Introduction

Sir Isaac Newton once said that to get an object moving it must experience a force. This force will cause the object to move in a certain direction. When an object experiences a force it will move in the direction that the force has created until it experiences the opposite force which will cause it to stop. Newton went on to discover that when objects move in a circular motion that they want to move outwards, away from the centre but still carry on going in a circle. He called this force creating the above movement pattern Centripetal Force.

This experiment shows how when we are in a car, on a roller coaster or on the swings at a fun fair, the Centripetal force causes us to move outward and away from the centre but also keeps us in circular motion.

Investigative question

Hypothesis

What is the movement of an object during circular motion?

Variables

Independent variable- the speed at which the Centripetal force generator is spun in a revolution. Example Kaelip vs. Jackie vs. Jean Claude’s speed of revolution. (The variable being changed by the experimenter)

Dependant variable- The marble in the Jelly (The aspect that is changed by the independent variable)

Controlled variable- The texture of the Jelly.

Method

Materials

Kettle

Measuring Jug

Cold tap water

3 packets of Jelly

Spoon to mix

5 plastic cups

Permanent marker

Fridge

Marbles

Scissors

String

Electrical tape

Instructions

Step 1:

a. Make the orange jelly following the instructions on the box- however make sure to put more cold water than the box instructs. In this case use 225ml of hot kettle water and 340ml of cold tap water.

b. Once the jelly is completely dissolved place the mixture into the 4 cups. Filling each cup...

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... objects move when in circular motion has been answered: they move outward away from the centre. Cup number 4 in my experiment did not work as the jelly was too soft and the marble sunk to the bottom. I would improve on my experiment by thickening the jelly for cup 4. Cup 3 the marble did not move this could be a result of the jelly being too hard. I can improve on this buy making sure to add more cold water next time. The above information about the jelly miscalculations would be the error in my experiment.

Objects move outwards when centripetal force is placed on them.

Bibliography

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Phys_p018.shtml#background

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2974

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_variables.shtml#examples

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