Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation

and Circular Motion

Objectives:
At the end of the chapter the students should be able to :

1. Understand Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation

2. Understand Uniform Circular Motion
3. Solve centripetal acceleration and centripetal force
4. Solve problems of rounding a flat unbanked and
banked curve
 Gravitational Force
• Mutual force of attraction between any two objects
• Expressed by Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation:
• Every particle in the Universe attracts every other particle with a force
that is directly proportional to the product of the masses of the particles
and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them

• G = 6.67 x10-11 N m2/kg2

Example:
a) Calculate the gravitational force exerted by the earth on a
70.0kg man .
b) Find the gravitational force exerted by the sun on a 70.0kg man
located at the Earth’s equator at noon., when man is closest to
the Sun.
c)Calculate the gravitational force of the Sun on the man at
midnight, when he is farthest from the sun.

Mean distance of Earth to the Sun = 1.496 x1011 m

Earth’s mean radius = 6.38 x106
Mass of sun = 1.991 x1030 kg Mass of earth = 5.97x1024 kg
 Uniform circular motion

• Figure shows a particle moving with constant speed in a

circular path of radius R with centre at O.
• The particle moves from P1 to P2 in time t.
Uniform circular motion

• Angles labeled in the figures are the same υ1

because is perpendicular to the line
υ 2 OP1 and is
perpendicular to the line OP2.
 Motion in a Circle

Uniform circular motion

• Hence triangles OP1P2 and Op1p2 are similar. Ratios of
corresponding sides are equal, so

υ s  1
 or υ  s
1 R R

• Magnitude aav of average acceleration during t is


υ 1 s
aav  
t R t
 Motion in a Circle

Uniform circular motion

• The subscript “rad” is added
as a reminder that the direction
of the instantaneous acceleration
at each pt is always along a
radius of the circle, toward its
centre.
• In uniform circular motion, the magnitude a of the
instantaneous acceleration is equal to the square of the
speed  divided by the radius R of the circle.
 Motion in a Circle

Uniform circular motion


• Its direction is perpendicular toυ and inward along the
radius. Because it is always directed toward the centre of
the circle, it is sometime called centripetal acceleration.
• We also express the magnitude of the acceleration in
uniform circular motion in terms of the period T of the
motion (time for one revolution around circle).
• Thus, its speed is
2πR

T
 Motion in a Circle

Uniform circular motion

• When we substitute this to the acceleration which is also
radial acceleration, we get
2πR

T
2
4π R
arad  2
T
Example 1: Centripetal acceleration on a carnival ride
In a carnival ride, the passengers travel at
constant speed in a circle of radius 5.0 m.
They make one complete circle in 4.0 s.
What is their acceleration?
2. A sled with a mass of 25.0 kg rests on a horizontal
sheet of essentially frictionless ice. It is attached by a
5.00-m rope to a post set in the ice. Once given a push,
the sled revolves uniformly in a circle around the post
as shown in the figure. If the sled makes five complete
revolutions every minute, find the force F exerted on it
by the cord.
 Dynamics of Circular Motion
• Uniform circular motion is governed by Newton’s
second law. 
• The vector sum F is a vector that is always directed
toward the center as shown below:
 Dynamics of Circular Motion
• The acceleration is always constant, thus the
magnitude Fnet of the net inward radial force
must also be constant.
• If the inward radial force suddenly ceases to
act on a body in a circular motion, the body
flies off in a straight line with constant
velocity (as it must, since the net force acting
is zero).
• The magnitude of the radial acceleration is given by
v2
arad 
R

• Thus the magnitude of Fnet , the net inward radial

force on a particle with mass m is

• Uniform circular motion can result from any

combination of forces where Fnet is always
directed toward the center of circle with constant
magnitude.
 Example: Rounding a flat curve
1. A BMW Z4 roadster has a "lateral acceleration" of 0.87g,
which is (0.87)(9.8 m/s2) = 8.5 m/s2. This represents the
maximum centripetal acceleration that can be attained without
skidding out of the circular path. If the car is traveling at a
constant 40 m/s (about 89 mi/h, or 144 km/h), what is the
minimum radius of curve it can negotiate? (Assume that the
curve is unbanked.)
2. The BMW Z4 roadster in Example 1 is rounding a flat,
unbanked curve with radius R is 230m . If the coefficient of
friction between tires and road is = 0.87, what is the
maximum speedvmax at which the driver can take the curve
without sliding?
 Example:Rounding a banked curve
3.For a car traveling at a certain speed, it is possible to bank a
curve at just the right angle so that no friction at all is needed to
maintain the car’s turning radius. Then a car can round the
curve even on wet ice with Teflon tires. Bobsled racing depends
on the same idea. An engineer proposes to rebuild the curve in
Example 3 so that a car movingvat speed = 25.0m/s can safely
 angle
make the turn even if there is no friction. At what
should the curve be banked?