Uniform Circular Motion and Torque

Physics
Unit 3
 Credits
 This Slideshow was developed to accompany the textbook
 OpenStax High School Physics
 Available for free at https://openstax.org/details/books/physics
 By Paul Peter Urone and Roger Hinrichs
 2020 edition
 Some examples and diagrams are taken from the OpenStax College Physics,
Physics, and Cutnell & Johnson Physics 6th ed.

Slides created by
Richard Wright, Andrews Academy
[email protected]
 After this lesson you will…
• Define arc length, rotation angle, radius of curvature
and angular velocity.
• Calculate the angular velocity
• Establish the expression for centripetal acceleration.

3-01 ROTATION ANGLE AND CENTRIPETAL

ACCELERATION
3-01 Rotation Angle 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 ()
 Angle through which an
object rotates
3-01 Rotation Angle and Centripetal Acceleration
 Arc Length is the distance
around part of circle

 Angle Units:
 Revolutions: 1 circle = 1 rev
 Degrees: 1 circle = 360°
 Radians: 1 circle =
 Arc Length formula must use
radians for the angle unit
3-01 Rotation Angle and Centripetal Acceleration
 Convert 60° to radians  Convert 2 revolutions to
radians
3-01 Rotation Angle and Centripetal Acceleration
 Angular Velocity ()
 How fast an object
rotates

 Unit: rad/s
 CCW +, CW –
 3-01 Rotation Angle 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?
3-01 Rotation Angle and Centripetal Acceleration
 Make a hypothesis about A

what will happen. Which

path will an object most B

closely follow when the

centripetal force is C

removed?
3-01 Rotation Angle 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?
3-01 Rotation Angle 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 
3-01 Rotation Angle 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)
3-01 Rotation Angle and Centripetal Acceleration
 Since the triangles have
the same angle are
isosceles, they are similar.
3-01 Rotation Angle 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
3-01 Rotation Angle 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
 F=
ma

After this lesson you will…

• Apply centripetal force

3-02 CENTRIPETAL FORCE

 F=
3-02 Centripetal Force ma
 Newton’s 2nd Law
 Whenever there is acceleration there is a force to
cause it
 F=
3-02 Centripetal Force ma
 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
 F=
3-02 Centripetal Force ma
 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
 F=
3-02 Centripetal Force ma
 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.
 F=
3-02 Centripetal Force ma
 Why do objects seem to fly away from circular motion?

 They really go in a straight line according to Newton's

First Law.
 F=
3-02 Centripetal Force ma
 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.
 F=
3-02 Centripetal Force ma
Remember the good old days when cars were big, the seats were
vinyl bench seats, and there were no seat belts? Well when a guy
would take a girl out on a date and he wanted to get cozy, he
would put his arm on the back of the seat then make a right hand
turn. The car and the guy would turn since the tires and steering
wheel provided the centripetal force. The friction between the
seat and the girl was not enough, so the girl would continue in a
straight path while the car turned underneath her. She would
end up in the guy’s arms.
 After this lesson you will…
• Describe uniform circular motion.
• Calculate angular acceleration of an object.
• Observe the link between linear and angular
acceleration.
• Observe the kinematics of rotational motion.
• Derive rotational kinematic equations.

3-03 KINEMATICS OF ROTATIONAL MOTION

 3-03 Kinematics of Rotational Motion
 Rotational motion  is like x
 Describes spinning   position
motion  is like v

  velocity
 is like a

  acceleration
 3-03 Kinematics of Rotational Motion
 Two components to  Tangental (linear)
acceleration  Tangent to circle
 Centripetal  Changes speed only
 Toward center since parallel to v
 Changes direction
only since
perpendicular to v
 3-03 Kinematics of Rotational Motion
 Equations of kinematics
for rotational motion are
same as for linear motion
 3-03 Kinematics of Rotational Motion
 Reasoning Strategy
1. Examine the situation to determine if rotational motion
involved
2. Identify the unknowns (a drawing can be useful)
3. Identify the knowns
4. Pick the appropriate equation based on the knowns/unknowns
5. Substitute the values into the equation and solve
6. Check to see if your answer is reasonable
 3-03 Kinematics of Rotational Motion
 A figure skater is spinning at 0.5 rev/s and then pulls her
arms in and increases her speed to 10 rev/s in 1.5 s.
What was her angular acceleration?
 39.8 rad/s2
 3-03 Kinematics of Rotational Motion
 A ceiling fan has 4 evenly spaced
blades of negligible width. As you
are putting on your shirt, you raise
your hand. It brushes a blade and
then is hit by the next blade. If the
blades were rotating at 4 rev/s and
stops in 0.01 s as it hits your hand,
what angular displacement did the
fan move after it hit your hand?
 τ=
Fr
sin
θ

After this lesson you will…

• Calculate torque
• Apply torque to equilibrium problems

3-04 TORQUE
 τ=
3-04 Torque Fr
sin
 Statics θ
 Study of forces in equilibrium
 Equilibrium means no acceleration
 First condition of equilibrium

 and
 They can still rotate, so…
 τ=
3-04 Torque Fr
sin
 Think of opening a door
θ

 Which opens the door the best?

 Picture a
 Big force  large torque
 Force away from pivot  large torque
 Force directed to door  large torque
 τ=
3-04 Torque Fr
sin
 τ=F×r θ
 This means we use the component of the force that is perpendicular to the
lever arm
 τ = F r
 τ = F r sin θ
 θ is the angle between the force and the radius

 Unit: Nm
 CCW  +
 CW  −
 τ=
3-04 Torque Fr
sin
 You are meeting the parents of your new “special” friend for the first time.θ
After being at their house for a couple of hours, you walk out to discover
the little brother has let all the air out of one of your tires. Not knowing
the reason for the flat tire, you decide to change it. You have a 50-cm long
lug-wrench attached to a lugnut as shown. If 900 Nm of torque is needed,
how much force is needed?

120°
 F = 2078 N

 Less force required if pushed at 90°

 τ=
3-04 Torque Fr
sin
 Second condition of equilibrium θ
 Net torque = 0
 τ=
3-04 Torque Fr
sin
 A 5 m, 10 kg seesaw is balanced by a little girl (25 kg) and her father (80 kg) θ
at opposite ends as shown below. How far from the seesaw’s center of mass
must the fulcrum be placed?
 1.20 m
80 kg
25 kg xm

10 kg

 How much force 5m

must the fulcrum
support?
 1130 N
 τ=
Fr
sin
θ

After this lesson you will…

• Understand how the moment of inertia affects angular
acceleration
• Apply Newton’s Second Law for torques (τ = I α)

3-05 MOMENT OF INERTIA

 τ=
3-05 Moment of Inertia Fr
sin
θ

  Moment of inertia of a particle

 Newton’s second law for rotation

 α is in rad/s2
 sin θ 3-05 Moment of Inertia
Fr
τ=
 Moment of Inertia (I)
measures how much
an object wants to
keep rotating (or not
start rotating)
 Use calculus to find
 Unit:
 kg m2
 τ=
3-05 Moment of Inertia Fr
sin
 The St. Joseph River Swing θ
Bridge in St. Joseph, Michigan
has a mass of 300 tons
(2.72×105 kg) and is 231 ft
(70.4 m) long. If the motor
produces 563 kNm of torque
and takes 10 s to accelerate the
bridge to 0.05 rad/s, what is
the bridge’s moment of inertia?
 τ=
3-05 Moment of Inertia Fr
sin
 A spinning ride at a carnival is accelerating at 4 rad/s2. If θ
the ride is shaped like a hoop, and the motor is exerting
128000 Nm of torque, what is the radius of the 500 kg
ride?