Angular Speed with Beam Lab

 1. Use the velocity components to determine the direction of the velocity vector. Is it in the expected direction?

Our group took measurements from 6cm, 12cm, and 18cm from the center. The average angular velocity I got from vernier video analysis using these measurements was 2.68 rad/s. Calculating for linear velocity, i got 0.16m/s for 6cm, 0.32m/s for 12cm, and 0.48m/s for 18cm. This shows that the direction of the linear velocity is tangent to the motion the beam goes, a circle. This seems correct as my calculations are related to each other. 

2. Analyze enough different points in the same video to make a graph of the speed as a function of distance from the axis of rotation. What quantity does the slope of the graph represent?

My group used a cosine graph to see the average slope of the three distances we chose, which 2.68rad/s. This is the angular velocity which should be the same for all of our distances. 

3. Calculate the acceleration of each point and graph the acceleration as a function of the distance from the axis of rotation. What quantity does the slope of this graph represent?

The slope would still be the same as the previous calculation. The centripetal accelerations I calculated was 0.43rad/s^2 for 6cm, 0.86rad/s^2 for 12cm, and 1.29 rad/s^2 for 18cm. This shows a slight increase as the distance becomes greater. 

Conclusion: How do your results compare to your predictions? 

From what we learned in class, my prediction was similar because I believe the speeds would increase depending on where your point is. The further out from the center, the faster it will be, like the example done in class with a person spinning with there hands out. Their elbow would have a slower linear velocity and acceleration. 

6cm

12cm 

18cm