7/1/2024

FORCES AND
UNIFORM CIRCULAR
MOTION
PHYSICS
UNIT 2

• This Slideshow was developed to accompany the textbook

• OpenStax Physics
• Available for free at https://openstaxcollege.org/textbooks/college-physics
• By OpenStax College and Rice University
• 2013 edition
• Some examples and diagrams are taken from the OpenStax Physics and Cutnell & Johnson
Physics 6th ed.

Slides created by
Richard Wright, Andrews Academy
[email protected]

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02-01 NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION

In this lesson you will…
• Understand the definition of force.
• Define mass and inertia.
• Understand Newton's first law of motion.
• Define net force, external force, and system.
• Understand Newton’s second law of motion.
• Understand Newton's third law of motion.

02-01 NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION

• Kinematics • Force
• How things move • A push or a pull
• Dynamics • Is a vector
• Why things move • Unit: Newton (N)
• Measured by a spring scale

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02-01 NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION

• A body at rest remains at rest, or, if in motion, remains in motion at

a constant velocity unless acted on by a net external force.
• Inertia
• Property of objects to remain in constant motion or rest.
• Mass is a measure of inertia

02-01 NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION

• Acceleration of a system is directly proportional to and in the same

direction as the net force acting on the system, and inversely
proportional to its mass.
𝑭 = 𝑚𝒂
• Net force is the vector sum of all the forces.

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02-01 NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION

• Whenever one body exerts a force on a second body, the first body
experiences a force that is equal in magnitude and opposite in
direction to the force that it exerts.
• Every force has an equal and opposite reaction force.
• You push down on your chair, so the chair pushed back up on you.

02-01 NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION

• A football player named Al is blocking a player on the other team

named Bob. Al applies a 1500 N force on Bob. If Bob's mass is 100
kg, what is his acceleration?
• What is the size of the force on Al?
• If Al's mass is 75 kg, what is his acceleration?

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02-01 NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION

• A 0.046 kg golf ball hit by a driver can accelerate from rest to 67

m/s in 1 ms while the driver is in contact with the ball. How much
average force does the golf ball experience?

02-02 WEIGHT AND GRAVITY

In this lesson you will…
• Define normal force.
• Apply Newton's laws of motion to solve problems involving a variety of forces.
• Use trigonometric identities to resolve weight into components.
• Understand and apply a problem-solving procedure to solve problems using Newton's laws
of motion.
• Explain Earth’s gravitational force.

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02-02 WEIGHT AND GRAVITY

• Weight • Mass
• Measure of force of gravity • Not a force
• 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 • Measure of inertia or amount
• Objects near earth accelerate of matter
downward at 9.80 m/s2 • Unit: kg
• 𝑤 = 𝑚𝑔 • Constant
• Unit: N • Watch Eureka! 6
• Depends on local gravity

02-02 WEIGHT AND GRAVITY

• Every particle in the universe exerts a force on every other particle

• 𝐺 = 6.673 × 10 𝑁 𝑚2/𝑘𝑔2
• m and M are the masses of the particles
• r = distance between the particles (centers of objects)

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02-02 WEIGHT AND GRAVITY

• For bodies
• Using calculus – apply universal gravitation for bodies

• Estimate (quite precisely)

• Assume bodies are particles based at their center of mass
• For spheres assume they are particles located at the center

02-02 WEIGHT AND GRAVITY

• What is the gravitational attraction between a 75-kg boy (165 lbs)

and the 50-kg girl (110 lbs) seated 1 m away in the next desk?

• Fg = 2.5 × 10 N
• = 2.6 × 10 lbs of force

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02-02 WEIGHT AND GRAVITY

• Weight is Gravitational Force the earth exerts on an object

• Unit: Newton (N)

• Remember!!!
• Weight is a Force
• Watch Eureka 7

02-02 WEIGHT AND GRAVITY

• Weight
𝑚𝑀
𝑊=𝐺
𝑟
𝑊 = 𝑚𝑔

𝑀
𝑔=𝐺
𝑟
• r is usually RE
• So g = 9.80 m/s2

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02-02 WEIGHT AND GRAVITY

• The gravitational pull from the moon and sun causes tides
• Water is pulled in the direction of the moon and sun

• Gravitational pull from satellites causes the main body to move

slightly
• Moon causes earth to move
• Planets cause sun/star to move

02-02 WEIGHT AND GRAVITY

• Problems-Solving Strategy
1. Identify the principles involved and draw a picture
2. List your knowns and Draw a free-body diagram
3. Apply 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
4. Check your answer for reasonableness

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02-02 WEIGHT AND GRAVITY

• Free-body diagram
• Draw only forces acting on
the object
• Represent the forces with
vector arrows

02-02 WEIGHT AND GRAVITY

• When two objects touch there is often a force

• Normal Force
• Perpendicular component of the contact force between two
objects
FN

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02-02 WEIGHT AND GRAVITY

• Weight pushes down

• So the table pushes up
• Called Normal force
• Newton’s 3rd Law

• Normal force doesn’t always =

weight
• Draw a freebody diagram to find
equation

02-02 WEIGHT AND GRAVITY

• A lady is weighing some bananas in a grocery store when the floor

collapses. If the bananas mass is 2 kg and the floor is accelerating
at -2.25 m/s2, what is the apparent weight (normal force) of the
bananas?

• FN = 15.1 N

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02-02 WEIGHT AND GRAVITY

• A box is sitting on a ramp

angled at 20°. If the box weighs FN
50 N, what is the normal force
on the box?

• 47 N 20°
20°

02-03 FRICTION
In this lesson you will…
• Discuss the general characteristics of friction.
• Describe the various types of friction.
• Calculate the magnitude of static and kinetic friction.

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02-03 FRICTION

• Normal force – perpendicular to surface

• Friction force – parallel to surface, and opposes motion

• Comes from rough surface

• Not well understood

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02-03 FRICTION

• Static Friction
• Keeps things from moving.
• Cancels out applied force
until the applied force gets
too big.
• Depends on force pushing
down and roughness of
surface

02-03 FRICTION

• Static Friction
• Depends on force pushing down and roughness of surface

• More pushing down (FN), more friction

• 𝜇 is coefficient of static friction (0.01 to 1.5)

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02-03 FRICTION

• Kinetic Friction
• Once motion happens
•𝑓 =𝜇 𝐹

• 𝑓 is usually less than 𝑓

02-03 FRICTION

• A car skids to a stop after initially going 30.0 m/s. k = 0.800. How
far does the car go before stopping?

• 57.3 m W

fk

FN

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02-03 FRICTION

• A 65-kg skier is coasting downhill on a 15° slope. Assuming the

coefficient of friction is that of waxed wood on snow, what is the
skier’s acceleration?
• 1.59 𝑚/𝑠 downhill 𝐹
𝑓

15°
𝑤

02-03 FRICTION

• While hauling firewood to the house, you pull a 100-kg wood-filled wagon across
level ground at a constant velocity. You pull the handle with a force of 230 N at
30° above the horizontal. What is the coefficient of friction between the wagon
and the ground?

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02-04 TENSION, HOOKE'S LAW, DRAG, AND

EQUILIBRIUM
In this lesson you will…
• Define tension force.
• Apply Newton's laws of motion to solve problems involving a variety of forces.
• Express mathematically the drag force.
• Discuss the applications of drag force.
• Define terminal velocity.
• Determine the terminal velocity given mass.
• Apply problem-solving techniques to solve for quantities in more complex systems of forces.

02-04 TENSION, HOOKE'S LAW, DRAG, AND EQUILIBRIUM

• Hooke's Law
• For springs or forces that deform (change shape)
• For small deformations (no permanent change)
• 𝐹 = 𝑘Δ𝑥
• 𝑘 = spring constant and is unique to each spring
• Δ𝑥 = the distance the spring is stretched/compressed
• Hooke's Law is the reason we can use a spring scale to measure
force

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02-04 TENSION, HOOKE'S LAW, DRAG, AND EQUILIBRIUM

• Tension
• Pulling force from rope, chain, etc.
• Everywhere the rope connects to something, there is an identical
tension

02-04 TENSION, HOOKE'S LAW, DRAG, AND EQUILIBRIUM

• Drag • For large objects

• Resistive force from moving • 𝐹 = 𝐶𝜌𝐴𝑣
through a fluid
• Size depends on area, speed,
and properties of the fluid • 𝐶 = drag coefficient
• 𝜌 = density of fluid
• 𝐴 = cross-sectional area of
object
• 𝑣 = speed of object relative to
the fluid

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02-04 TENSION, HOOKE'S LAW, DRAG, AND EQUILIBRIUM

• Equilibrium
• No acceleration
•𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
•𝐹 =0

Tension

A tension is a force along the length

of a medium, especially a force
carried by a flexible medium, such as
a rope or cable.

The word “tension” comes from a

Latin word meaning “to stretch.”

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Example:

Calculate the tension in the wire supporting the 70.0-kg tightrope walker shown

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Example:
Consider the traffic light (mass 15.0 kg) suspended from two wires as shown.
Find the tension in each wire, neglecting the masses of the wires.

Example:
Figure shows a 75.0-kg man (weight of about 165 lb) standing on a bathroom scale in an
elevator. Calculate the scale reading: (a) if the elevator accelerates upward at a rate of ,
and (b) if the elevator moves upward at a constant speed of 1 m/s.

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02-04 TENSION, HOOKE'S LAW, DRAG, AND EQUILIBRIUM

• Find the terminal velocity of a falling mouse in air (𝐴 = 0.004 𝑚 , 𝑚 =

0.02 𝑘𝑔, 𝐶 = 0.5) and a falling human falling flat (𝐴 = 0.7 𝑚 , 𝑚 =
85 𝑘𝑔, 𝐶 = 1.0). The density of air is 1.21 𝑘𝑔/𝑚 .

• Mouse: 12.7 m/s

• Human: 44.4 m/s

02-04 TENSION, HOOKE'S LAW, DRAG, AND EQUILIBRIUM

• The helicopter in the drawing is

moving horizontally to the right at
a constant velocity. The weight of
the helicopter is 53,800 N. The lift
force L generated by the rotating
blade makes an angle of 21.0°
with respect to the vertical. What
is the magnitude of the lift force?
• 57600 N

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02-04 TENSION, HOOKE'S LAW, DRAG, AND EQUILIBRIUM

• A stoplight is suspended by
two cables over a street.
Weight of the light is 110 N and
the cables make a 122° angle T1 122° T2
with each side of the light.
Find the tension in each cable.

• 104 N w

02-04 TENSION, HOOKE'S LAW, DRAG, AND EQUILIBRIUM

• A mountain climber, in the process of crossing between two cliffs by

a rope, pauses to rest. She weighs 535 N. Find the tensions in the
rope to the left and to the right of the mountain climber.

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02-04 TENSION, HOOKE'S LAW, DRAG, AND EQUILIBRIUM

• A 10-g toy plastic bunny is connected to its base by a spring. The spring is
compressed and a suction cup on the bunny holds it to the base so that the bunny
doesn't move. If the spring is compressed 3 cm and has a constant of 330 N/m,
how much force must the suction cup provide?

02-04 TENSION, HOOKE'S LAW, DRAG, AND EQUILIBRIUM

• The tension is mounting… I can’t wait to see what’s next!

• Read 4.8

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HOOKE’S LAW

A change in shape due to the application of a force is a deformation.

Y, is a factor, called the elastic modulus or

Young’s modulus, that depends on the
substance, A is the cross-sectional area, and
L0 is the original length.

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Example:

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Example:

Calculate the change in length of the upper leg bone (the femur) when a 70.0 kg man
supports 62.0 kg of his mass on it, assuming the bone to be equivalent to a uniform rod
that is 40.0 cm long and 2.00 cm in radius.

Stress
The ratio of force to area, is defined as stress measured in N/m2 .

Strain
The ratio of the change in length to length, , is defined as strain (a
unitless quantity). In other words,

𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 = 𝑌 × 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛

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where S is the shear modulus and F is

the force applied perpendicular to L0 and
parallel to the cross-sectional area A.

02-05 NONEQUILIBRIUM AND FUNDAMENTAL FORCES

In this lesson you will…
• Understand the four basic forces that underlie the processes in
nature.

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02-05 NONEQUILIBRIUM AND FUNDAMENTAL FORCES

• Four Basic Forces

• All forces are made up of only 4 forces

• Gravitational - gravity
• Electromagnetic – static electricity, magnetism
• Weak Nuclear - radioactivity
• Strong Nuclear – keeps nucleus of atoms together

02-05 NONEQUILIBRIUM AND FUNDAMENTAL FORCES

• All occur because particles with that force property play catch with a different
particle
• Electromagnetic uses photons
• Scientists are trying to combine all forces together in Grand Unified Theory
• Have combined electric, magnetic, weak nuclear

• Gravity is the weakest

• We feel it because the electromagnetic cancels out over large areas
• Nuclear forces are strong but only over short distance

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02-05 NONEQUILIBRIUM AND FUNDAMENTAL FORCES

• A 1380-kg car is moving due east with an initial speed of 27.0 m/s.
After 8.00 s the car has slowed down to 17.0 m/s. Find the
magnitude and direction of the net force that produces the
deceleration.

02-05 NONEQUILIBRIUM AND FUNDAMENTAL FORCES

• A supertanker of mass 𝑚 = 1.50 × 10 kg is

being towed by two tugboats, as in the
picture. The tensions in the towing cables
apply the forces 𝑇 and 𝑇 at equal angles of
30.0° with respect to the tanker's axis. In
addition the tanker's engines produce a
forward drive force D, whose magnitude is
𝐷 = 75.0 × 10 N. Moreover, the water
applies an opposing force R, whose
magnitude is 𝑅 = 40.0 × 10 N. The tanker
moves forward with an acceleration of
2.00 × 10 m/s2. Find the magnitudes of
the tensions 𝑇 and 𝑇 .

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02-05 NONEQUILIBRIUM AND FUNDAMENTAL FORCES

• A flatbed truck is carrying a crate up

a 10.0° hill as in the picture. The
coefficient of the static friction
between the truck bed and the crate
is 𝜇 = 0.350. Find the maximum
acceleration that the truck can attain
before the crate begins to slip
backward relative to the truck.

02-05 NONEQUILIBRIUM AND FUNDAMENTAL FORCES

• A window washer on a scaffold is

hoisting the scaffold up the side of a
building by pulling downward on a
rope, as in the picture. The magnitude
of the pulling force is 540 N, and the
combined mass of the worker and the
scaffold is 155 kg. Find the upward
acceleration of the unit.

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02-05 NONEQUILIBRIUM AND FUNDAMENTAL FORCES

• Electromagnetic forces are responsible for doing homework.

• Read 6.1, 6.2

02-06 ANGULAR VELOCITY AND CENTRIPETAL

ACCELERATION
In this lesson you will…
• Define arc length, rotation angle, radius of curvature and angular
velocity.
• Calculate the angular velocity of a car wheel spin.
• Establish the expression for centripetal acceleration.
• Explain the centrifuge.

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02-06 ANGULAR VELOCITY AND CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION

• Newton’s Laws of motion

primarily relate to straight-line
motion.
• Uniform Circular Motion
• Motion in circle with constant
speed
• Rotation Angle (Δ𝜃)
• Angle through which an object
rotates

02-06 ANGULAR VELOCITY AND CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION

• Arc Length is the distance around part of

circle
Δ𝒔
Δ𝜃 =
𝒓
• Angle Units:
• Revolutions: 1 circle = 1 rev
• Degrees: 1 circle = 360°
• Radians: 1 circle = 2𝜋
• Arc Length formula must use radians and
angle unit
2𝜋 = 360° = 1 𝑟𝑒𝑣

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02-06 ANGULAR VELOCITY AND CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION

• Convert 60° to radians • Convert 2 revolutions to

radians

02-06 ANGULAR VELOCITY AND CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION

• Angular Velocity (𝜔) Δ𝑠

𝑣=
• How fast an object rotates Δ𝑡
Δ𝜃 Δ𝑠
𝜔= Δ𝜃 = → Δs = rΔθ
Δ𝑡 𝑟
𝑟Δ𝜃
• Unit: rad/s 𝑣= = 𝑟𝜔
Δ𝑡
• CCW +, CW –

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02-06 ANGULAR VELOCITY AND CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION

• A CD rotates 320 times in 2.4 s. What is its angular velocity in

rad/s? What is the linear velocity of a point 5 cm from the center?

02-06 ANGULAR VELOCITY AND CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION

• Make a hypothesis about what A

will happen. Which path will an

object most closely follow B

when the centripetal force is

removed? C

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02-06 ANGULAR VELOCITY AND CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION

1. Put the plate on a flat surface and put a marble in the ridge.
2. Push the marble in the ridge so that it travels around the plate and then
out of the removed section.
3. What is providing the centripetal force? i.e. what is keeping the marble
traveling in a circle?
4. Perform the test several times and record your results.
5. Which of Newton’s Laws explains the results?
6. This would have been more complicated if the object moved in a
vertical circle. Why?

02-06 ANGULAR VELOCITY AND CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION

• Object moves in circular path

• At time t0 it is at point O with a
velocity tangent to the circle
• At time t, it is at point P with a
velocity tangent to the circle
• The radius has moved through
angle 

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02-06 ANGULAR VELOCITY AND CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION

• Draw the two velocity

vectors so that they have the
same tails.
• The vector connecting the
heads is v
• Draw the triangle made by
the change in position and
you get the triangle in (b)

02-06 ANGULAR VELOCITY AND CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION

• Since the triangles have the same

angle are isosceles, they are
similar.
Δ𝑣 𝑣Δ𝑡
=
𝑣 𝑟
Δ𝑣 𝑣
=
Δ𝑡 𝑟
𝑣
𝑎 = = 𝑟𝜔
𝑟

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02-06 ANGULAR VELOCITY AND CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION

• At any given moment

• v is pointing tangent to the circle

• ac is pointing towards the center of the circle

• If the object suddenly broke from circular motion would travel in

line tangent to circle

02-06 ANGULAR VELOCITY AND CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION

• Two identical cars are going around two corners at 30 m/s. Each
car can handle up to 1 g. The radius of the first curve is 50 m and
the radius of the second is 100 m. Do either of the cars make the
curve? (hint find the ac)

50 m

100 m

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02-07 CENTRIPETAL FORCE AND BANKED CURVES

In this lesson you will…
• Calculate coefficient of friction on a car tire.
• Calculate ideal speed and angle of a car on a turn.

02-07 CENTRIPETAL FORCE AND BANKED CURVES

• Do the lab on your worksheet

• Are force and mass a direct or inverse relation?

• Are force and speed a direct or inverse relation?
• Are force and radius a direct or inverse relation?
• A car will skid when the centripetal force required to make it turn is
greater than the force of friction. What are two things the driver could do
to lessen the change of a skid in a curve?

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02-07 CENTRIPETAL FORCE AND BANKED CURVES

• Newton’s 2nd Law

• Whenever there is acceleration there is a force to cause it

• 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
• 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎

02-07 CENTRIPETAL FORCE AND BANKED CURVES

• Centripetal Force is not a new, separate force created by nature!

• Some other force creates centripetal force

• Swinging something from a string  tension
• Satellite in orbit  gravity
• Car going around curve  friction

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02-07 CENTRIPETAL FORCE AND BANKED CURVES

• A 1.25-kg toy airplane is attached to a string and swung in a circle

with radius = 0.50 m. What was the centripetal force for a speed of
20 m/s? What provides the Fc?

• Fc = 1000 N
• Tension in the string

02-07 CENTRIPETAL FORCE AND BANKED CURVES

• What affects Fc more: a change in mass, a change in radius, or a

change in speed?

• A change in speed since it is squared and the others aren’t.

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02-07 CENTRIPETAL FORCE AND BANKED CURVES

• When a car travels around an unbanked curve, static friction

provides the centripetal force.

• By banking a curve, this reliance on friction can be eliminated for a

given speed.

02-07 CENTRIPETAL FORCE AND BANKED CURVES

• A car travels around a friction free banked

curve
• Normal Force is perpendicular to road
• x component (towards center of circle)
gives centripetal force
𝑚𝑣
𝐹 sin 𝜃 =
𝑟
• y component (up) cancels the weight of the
car
𝐹 cos 𝜃 = 𝑚𝑔

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02-07 CENTRIPETAL FORCE AND BANKED CURVES

• Divide the x by the y

𝑚𝑣
𝐹 sin 𝜃 =
𝑟
𝐹 cos 𝜃 = 𝑚𝑔
• Gives
𝑣
tan 𝜃 =
𝑟𝑔
• Notice mass is not involved

02-07 CENTRIPETAL FORCE AND BANKED CURVES

• In the Daytona International Speedway, the corner is banked at 31 and r

= 316 m. What is the speed that this corner was designed for?

• v = 43 m/s = 96 mph
• Cars go 195 mph around the curve. How?
• Friction provides the rest of the centripetal force

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02-07 CENTRIPETAL FORCE AND BANKED CURVES

• Why do objects seem to fly away from circular motion?

• They really go in a straight line according to Newton's First Law.

02-07 CENTRIPETAL FORCE AND BANKED CURVES

• How does the spin cycle in a washing machine work?

• The drum’s normal forces makes the clothes to travel in a circle.

The water can go through the holes, so it goes in a straight line. The
water is not spun out, the clothes are moved away from the water.

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02-08 SATELLITES AND KEPLER’S LAWS

In this lesson you will…
• Explain Earth’s gravitational force.
• Describe the gravitational effect of the Moon on Earth.
• Discuss weightlessness in space.
• State Kepler’s laws of planetary motion.

02-08 SATELLITES AND KEPLER’S LAWS

• Satellites
• Any object orbiting another object only under the influence of
gravity
• Gravity provides the centripetal force
• There is only one speed that a satellite can have if the satellite is
to remain in an orbit with a fixed radius.

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02-08 SATELLITES AND KEPLER’S LAWS

• Why only one speed?

•𝐹 = 𝐹 =

• =

• r is measured from the center of the earth

02-08 SATELLITES AND KEPLER’S LAWS

𝐺𝑀
𝑣=
𝑟
• Since 1/r
• As r decreases, v increases
• Mass of the satellite is not in the equation, so speed of a massive
satellite = the speed of a tiny satellite

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02-08 SATELLITES AND KEPLER’S LAWS

• Calculate the speed of a satellite 500 km above the earth’s surface.

02-08 SATELLITES AND KEPLER’S LAWS

• Find the mass of a black hole where the matter orbiting it at r =

2.0 × 10 m move at speed of 7,520,000 m/s.

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02-08 SATELLITES AND KEPLER’S LAWS

• Astronauts in the space shuttles

and international space station
seem to float

• They appear weightless

• They are really falling

• Acceleration is about g towards
earth

02-08 SATELLITES AND KEPLER’S LAWS

… they were finally able to close and repressurize the
hatch. Several months later a new team of cosmonauts
returned and found the hatch impossible to permanently
repair. Instead they attached a set of clamps to secure it in
place.
It is this set of clamps that Linenger and Tsibliyev are
staring at uneasily seven years later. To his relief, the
commander opens the hatch Without incident and crawls
outside onto an adjoining ladder just after nine o’clock.
Linenger begins to follow. Outside the Sun is rising. The
Russians have planned the EVA at a sunrise so as to get the
longest period of light. But because of that, Linenger’s first
view of space is straight into the blazing Sun. “The first view
I got was just blinding rays coming at me,” Linenger told his
postflight debriefing session. “Even with my gold visor
down, it was just blinding. [I] was basically unable to see for
the first three or four minutes going out the hatch.”

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The situation only gets worse once his eyes clear.

Exiting the airlock, Linenger climbs out onto a
horizontal ladder that stretches out along the side of
the module into the darkness. Glancing about, trying
in vain to get his bearings, he is suddenly hit by an
overwhelming sense that he is falling, as if from a
cliff. Clamping his tethers onto the handrail, he
fights back a wave of panic and tightens his grip on
the ladder. But he still can’t shake the feeling that he
is plummeting through space at eighteen thousand
miles an hour. His mind races.
You’re okay. You’re okay. You’re not going to fall.
The bottom is way far away.

02-08 SATELLITES AND KEPLER’S LAWS

And now a second, even more intense

feeling washes over him: He’s not just
plunging off a cliff. The entire cliff is
crumbling away. “It wasn’t just me falling, but
everything was falling, which gave [me] even a
more unsettling feeling,” Linenger told his
debriefers. “So, it was like you had to
overcome forty years or whatever of life
experiences that [you] don’t let go when
everything falls. It was a very strong, almost
overwhelming sensation that you just had to
control. And I was able to control it, and I was
glad I was able to control it. But I could see
where it could have put me over the edge.”

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The disorientation is paralyzing. There is no up,

no down, no side. There is only three-dimensional
space. It is an entirely different sensation from
spacewalking on the shuttle, where the astronauts
are surrounded on three sides by a cargo bay. And it
feels nothing—nothing—like the Star City pool.
Linenger is an ant on the side of a falling apple,
hurtling through space at eighteen thousand miles
an hour, acutely aware what will happen if his
Russian-made tethers break. As he clings to the thin
railing, he tries not to think about the handrail on
Kvant that came apart during a cosmonaut’s
spacewalk in the early days of Mir. Loose bolts, the
Russians said.
Loose bolts.

02-08 SATELLITES AND KEPLER’S LAWS

• After studying motion of planets, Kepler came up with his laws of

planetary motion
• Newton then proved them all using his Universal Law of Gravitation
• Assumptions:
• A small mass, m, orbits much larger mass, M, so we can use M as
an approximate inertia reference frame
• The system is isolated

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02-08 SATELLITES AND KEPLER’S LAWS

1. The orbit of each planet

about the Sun is an ellipse
with the sun at one focus.
Watch video Kepler’s First Law

02-08 SATELLITES AND KEPLER’S LAWS

2. Each planet moves so that an

imaginary line drawn from
the sun to the planet sweeps
out equal areas in equal
times.

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02-08 SATELLITES AND KEPLER’S LAWS

3. The ratio of the squares of the • These laws work for all satellites
periods of any two planets • For circular orbits
about the sun is equal to the
ratio of the cubes of their 
average distances from the sun.

• Table 6.2 gives data about the

planets and moons

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02-08 SATELLITES AND KEPLER’S LAWS

• Use the data of Mars in the Table to find the mass of sun.
Mars, 𝑟 = 2.279 × 10 km, 𝑇 = 1.881 y

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