PASCO ME-8950A COMPLETE ROTATIONAL SYSTEM - Manual (Page 5)

012-05293F Complete Rotational System
1
Introduction
PASCO’s Complete Rotational System provides a full
range of experiments in centripetal force and rotational
dynamics. The system consists of three separate compo-
nents:
Description
The ME-8951 Rotating Platform consists of a sturdy 4
kg base with low friction bearings and a rotating arm
which serves as a versatile base for rotation experiments.
This platform is a general purpose base upon which you
may mount anything (having a mass under 3 kg) you wish
to rotate. The T-slots in the track supply a convenient
way to mount objects to the track using thumbscrews and
square nuts. To use the Centripetal Force Accessory (ME-
8952) or the Rotational Inertia Accessory (ME-8953),
each must be mounted on this base. A photogate/pulley
mount and two 300 g masses are also included.
The ME-8952 Centripetal Force Accessory is comprised
of two vertical posts which can be mounted to the Rotat-
ing Platform with thumbscrews. These posts are adjust-
able and can be positioned virtually anywhere along the
length of the platform. The radius indicator is at the center
of the apparatus so it can be clearly seen while the
apparatus is rotating. This accessory requires the Rotating
Platform (ME-8951) to operate. The PASCO Centripetal
Force Accessory can be used to experiment with centrip-
etal force and conservation of angular momentum. For
the centripetal force experiments it is possible to vary the
mass and radius to see the resulting change in the cen-
tripetal force. The force can also be held constant while
other quantities are varied. The Centripetal Force Acces-
sory is powered by hand and the rate of rotation can be
counted manually or read by a computer. Variable hang-
ing masses are included.
The ME-8953 Rotational Inertia Accessory includes a
disk and a metal ring. The disk can be mounted to the
rotating base in a variety of positions and at any radius.
This accessory requires the Rotating Platform (ME-8951)
to operate. The Rotational Inertia Accessory allows you
to perform rotational inertia experiments and conserva-
tion of angular momentum experiments.
About This Manual
The following Equipment section describes each compo-
nent in detail and the subsequent Assembly section pro-
vides instructions for component assembly and setup.
The Experiment section contains several experiments
that can illustrate some of the basic theory of centripetal
force, rotational inertia, etc.
Computer Timing
You can use a PASCO computer interface with a PASCO
Photogate Head to measure the motion of the apparatus.
Some of the experiments describe how to use DataStudio,
the software program that supports every PASCO com-
puter interface.
If you are using a computer interface such as a Science-
Workshop 750 or ScienceWorkshop 500, you can connect
the cable of the Photogate Head directly into the interface.
If you are using a PASPORT interface such as a USB
Link, PowerLink, Xplorer, or Xplorer GLX, you will
need to use a PASPORT Digital Adapter (PS-2159) to
connect the Photogate Head to the interface.
See the PASCO web site at www.pasco.com for more
information on PASCO interfaces, sensors, and software.