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An Hour In… AP Physics Lab

Students test centripetal motion principles by spinning a cup with water
Ava Torres, Features Editor
February 12, 2025
Students in AP Physics Lab apply mathematical and physics related principles to real life
Ava Torres
Diagonally spinning the cup, junior Adrian Cruz tests the centripetal principle on different planes of motion. Having dropped most of his water beside him moments earlier, he became less afraid of the small amount of water in his cup falling out. “The centripetal force of the cup keeps the water inside of it, and the moment that you stop, the water goes back and follows the laws of gravity it will fly out of the cup,” Cruz said. “Centripetal force is super important as it keeps things like cars moving, like airplanes flying, because they’re engines, they use a ton of force to consistently push away air to build up turbulence. Cars do the same thing where they build up momentum by spinning. That’s just how wheels turn. It’s used in everyday life for transportation.”
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