Procedure
To begin, the mass of the IOLab was measured. an IOLab is a device with an accelerometer and mounting points for lanyards. The readings from the accelerometer were compared to the calculated tension force.
A rope was tied to the IOLab and fed through a tube, anchored at the end. This apparatus allowed a constant radius to be maintained, and it also reduced error from the rope having to pass over the uneven surface of the human hand.
To help maintain a constant period of motion, a metronome was used. Stopwatches were used to measure the period of each rotation. Because the act of swinging a mass in the air is extremely rapid, data from 60 rotations was collected. The data from the stopwatches and the acceleration data from the IOLab was used to determine an average force of tension.