Ryan Job

Partners: Hunter Cameron & Frank Chapman

Centripetal Acceleration on a Turntable

Objective: The objective of this lab was to show the direction of centripetal acceleration and to show its
relationship to radius and angular velocity.
Setup/Method: For the first part of the experiment, we moved the accelerometer along its arrow to find
which direction of acceleration is positive when graphed and which direction is negative.
For the second part of the experiment, we taped the accelerometer to the edge of the turntable, set the
speed to 33 1/3 RPM, and recorded the acceleration for a few seconds. Then we did the same at 45 RPM
and 78 RPM.
For the third part of the experiment, we kept the speed at 78 RPM, but used three different distances
from the center of the turntable.

Data: The first part of the lab showed that acceleration in the direction of the arrow is positive and
acceleration in the opposite direction is negative.
The results of the second part of the lab where we varied the speed of the turntable are shown in the
first table.
The results of the third part of the lab where we varied the distance of the accelerometer from the
center of the turntable is shown in the second table.
Angular Speed
(RPM)
(Rad/s)
33 1/3
3.4907
45
4.7124
78
8.1681

Radius (m)
0.039 m
0.039 m
0.039 m

Centripetal Acceleration (m/s^2)

0.5561 m/s^2
1.053 m/s^2
2.855 m/s^2

Ryan Job
Angular Speed
(RPM)
(Rad/s)
78
8.1681
78
8.1681
78
8.1681

Partners: Hunter Cameron & Frank Chapman

Radius (m)
0.020 m
0.032 m
0.008 m

Centripetal Acceleration (m/s^2)

1.863 m/s^2
2.485 m/s^2
1.043 m/s^2

The graph of the second part of the experiment is shown as Graph 1. It shows the centripetal
acceleration compared to the angular speed squared.
The graph of the third part of the experiment is shown as Graph 2. It shows the centripetal acceleration
squared compared to the radius.
Graph 1

Graph 2

Ryan Job

Partners: Hunter Cameron & Frank Chapman

Calculations/Results: All of our data measuring the acceleration was a positive number, showing that
centripetal acceleration is towards the center of rotation.
In order to linearize the graphs, we needed to square the values of angular speed in Graph 1 and
centripetal acceleration in Graph 2. The point (0, 0) was added to each graph to increase the accuracy of
the best fit line which was added. The graphs both have a correlation coefficient that is very close to 1,
showing that the best fit lines are very accurate.
In Graph 1, we found the slope of the line to have the unit meters/radians^2, but since radians do not
have a unit, it is simply meters. This gives the equation AC / w2 = r.
In Graph 2, we found the slope to be meters/seconds^4, which can be split up into meters/seconds^2
times radians^2/seconds^2. Radians can be added since they do not have a unit. This gives the equation
AC2 / r = AC x w2, which can be simplified to simply AC / r = w2. This can be rewritten to be the same as the
equation given by Graph 1.
Conclusion: This lab has shown that centripetal acceleration, angular speed, and radius are all related by
the formula AC = r w2. It also showed that centripetal acceleration is always towards the center of
rotation. While our results were fairly accurate, the cord on the accelerometer would become wound
up, weakening the electrical signal to the computer. This probably had an effect on the data, so a
wireless accelerometer would have worked much better for doing this lab.