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3.05 Circular Motion

The document discusses circular motion and centripetal force. It provides examples of forces that cause centripetal force, such as gravity pulling the Earth around the Sun. It explains that for an object to move in a circular path, a centripetal force must be applied perpendicular to the object's motion to continually change its direction. The amount of centripetal force depends on the mass of the object, its velocity, and the radius of its path. Several homework questions are also provided about circular motion concepts.

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Mohab Mqattash
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43 views

3.05 Circular Motion

The document discusses circular motion and centripetal force. It provides examples of forces that cause centripetal force, such as gravity pulling the Earth around the Sun. It explains that for an object to move in a circular path, a centripetal force must be applied perpendicular to the object's motion to continually change its direction. The amount of centripetal force depends on the mass of the object, its velocity, and the radius of its path. Several homework questions are also provided about circular motion concepts.

Uploaded by

Mohab Mqattash
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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3.

05 Circular motion
Explain how to describe, qualitatively, the motion in a circular
path due to a force perpendicular to the motion
Discuss the properties of an object moving in a circular path with
constant speed
Examples of circular motion
1. In a spin drier it is the wall of the drum pressing on
the clothes.

2. In a vehicle cornering, it is the friction between the


wheels and the road. (It is so difficult to corner on ice
where there is hardly any friction)

3. In a railway train corners, it is the force of the


rails on the flanged wheels

Examples of forces causing


centripetal force
4. When the Earth orbits the Sun, it is the pull of
gravity

5. When a stone is whirled round on a string it is the


tension in the string.

6. When electrons move around the nucleus, it is the


electrostatic force or force of attraction between
protons and electrons.

Examples of forces causing


centripetal force
 If you whirl a bucket of water around in a vertical circle
you will not get wet if the speed of the bucket is great
enough.

 At every point in the circle, water tries to fall vertically


out of the bucket due to the force of gravity but also
tries to move in a straight line due to its circular motion.

Centripetal force
 If we observe the motion of a hammer thrower whirling
a hammer in the Olympic games, we will see him/her
moving in a horizontal circle at a steady speed before
leaving the hammer at a certain point to fly to the
maximum distance it can reach.

Centripetal
force
 From Newton's first law of motion, objects moving,
tend to continue their motion in a straight line at a
constant speed unless a force is acting upon them.

 So, when the hammer is moving in a circular path its


direction of motion is changing constantly.

Centripetal force
 If the string breaks or the sportsperson leave it, the
hammer will move tangent to the circle at the point of
leaving or breaking.

 Furthermore, because velocity is a vector quantity


that depends on both value and direction, the hammer
is gaining acceleration in the same direction of force.

Centripetal force
 This force is inward or acting towards the centre of the
circle, this force is called Centripetal force

 Recall that centripetal force isn't produced by circular


motion. It is the force that must be supplied to make
something move in circle rather than a straight line and
this force is always perpendicular to the motion

Centripetal force
 It can be shown that a = v2/ r; from Newton's second
law, substituting a in F = ma, we can write:
F = mv2/ r (*equation NOT required in IGCSE)

Thus, a larger centripetal force is needed when:


 The mass m of the object is increased
 The velocity v of the object is increased
 The radius r of the object is decreased

Factors affecting centripetal force


Ex 1. An apple is whirled round in a horizontal circle on
the end of a string which is tied to the stalk. It is whirled
faster and faster and at a certain speed the apple is torn
from the stalk. Why?

First of all, the force causing the apple to move in a


horizontal circle or the centripetal force is the tension
force on the stalk and by moving it faster and faster the
tension force increases till the point where the string
can't bear.

Example 1
Q1. A piece of clay is stuck to the edge of a potter's
wheel. Draw a diagram to show the path of the clay if it
comes unstuck while the wheel is rotating.

Q2. The diagram shows an object moving at a constant


speed in a circular path in the direction shown. A force
acts on the object to keep it in the circular path.
In which labelled direction does this force act, when the
object is in the position shown?

Homework
Q3. A car rounding a bend travels in an arc of a circle.
1. What provides the centripetal force?
2. Is a larger or a smaller centripetal force required if

i. The car travels faster,


ii. The bend is less curved,
iii. The car has more passengers?

Q4. Racing cars are fitted with tyres called ‘slicks’, which
have no tread pattern, for dry tracks, and with ‘tread’
tyres for wet tracks. Why?

Homework
Q5. A satellite is in a circular orbit around the Earth.
a. Draw a diagram to show any forces on the satellite. Show the
direction of the satellite's acceleration.
b. If the satellite were in a higher orbit, how would this affect its
speed?
c. If the satellite were in a higher orbit, how would this affect the
centripetal force required?

Q6. Which statement describes the motion of the satellite?


 It is not accelerating but its speed is changing.
 It is accelerating because its speed is changing.
 It is not accelerating but its velocity is changing.
 It is accelerating because its velocity is changing.

Homework
Q7. The figure below shows a cycle track.
A cyclist starts at A and follows the path ABCDEB. The
speed-time graph is shown below.
a) Use the information given from figures to describe the
motion of the cyclist.
i. Along AB
ii. Along BCDEB
b) State one similarity and one difference between the
velocity at C and the velocity at E

c) Calculate
i. The distance along the cycle track from A to B
ii. The circumference of the circular part of the track

Homework

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