Uniform Circular Motion Ideas
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Transcript Uniform Circular Motion Ideas
Circular
Motion
Uniform circular motion: examples
include
•Objects in orbit (earth around the sun
•Driving a car around a corner
•Rotating a ball around on a string
Circular Motion
According
to Newton’s mechanics,
objects don’t tend to move in a circle by
themselves. They tend to either be at rest
of move in a straight line at constant
speed (this is Newton’s first law)
Example of circular motion
Bucket
on string
Circular Motion
Circular
motion is not “natural” motion
Something (a Force) must make an object
move in a circle
The Force causing circular motion can be
one of many different forces, depends on
the situation (orbit = gravitational force,
car turning a corner = frictional force
between tires and the road, ball on a
string = tension force)
Circular Motion
Remember
from Newton’s 2nd law, that
…..Force = mass x acceleration (F = ma)
But if the object is in uniform circular
motion, their speed is constant, so is
acceleration = 0?
Objects
in circular motion require a Force!
Circular Motion
In
circular motion, the acceleration is a
change in the direction of the object,
even though the speed is constant, the
direction keeps changing, and velocity is
a vector.
The force keeps pulling the object to the
center, hence we call this type of
acceleration “centripetal” acceleration
which means “center seeking”.
Circular Motion
Solving
circular motion problems is like a
typical “force” problem where the motion
is circular rather than linear.
F = ma still works, now we have a new
term for centripetal acceleration
ac = v2/r acceleration (centripetal) =
velocity squared/radius.
Circular Motion
Example
….. Ball on a string rotating
horizontally
Let’s say it’s a 3 kg ball rotating at 5
m/s at a radius of 2m. What is the
Force of tension in the string?
Find the acceleration of the ball where
a = v2/r
Using the idea that F=ma and that the
Force causing circular motion is the
tension in the string.