Analysis

• Draw a free body diagram of each mass to show that you understand how we are applying Newton's Second Law.
• Plot a graph of T² versus r.  Does the plot approximate a straight line?  What should the slope be?
• Perform a fit of your data to find the slope and intercept of the best-fit line and plot the best-fit line on your graph.

Does the 90% confidence interval for the slope agree with the accepted value? What is the physical significance of the y-intercept? What value do you expect? Does your 90% confidence interval for the y-intercept include this value? Discuss possible sources of error, both random and systematic, which may affect your results.

Write-Up

1. If this is a written formal lab (as indicated on the lab syllabus), you will have until the next lab to submit the write up to the appropriate assignment in Moodle. For written formal labs, remember to check the "write-up hints" page to be sure everything is included and check your write-up against the grading rubric.
2. If this is an informal lab, record your results in your lab notebook. Before the next lab you will need to complete the informal lab quiz in Moodle in which you will type in your results and/or answer some questions about the lab.
3. If this is an oral report lab, you will schedule a time to meet with your instructor over GoToMeeting to present your work. You should prepare your results and the answers to any questions in a neat and organized fashion so that you can refer to when necessary during your discussion.
4. Remember to read the next lab and do the pre-lab before the next scheduled lab session. You may work on the pre-lab with others, but each person must submit her or his own work.

Department of Physics