IB physics circular motion and

Gravity
physics unit 6

circular motion
an object moving, in a circle
apply a constant net force onto a moving object, in order to making it go around in a
circle
if it did not have inital velocity, it would be just dragged towards you, not in a circle.
2 requirements for circular motion to happen

the net force which is pulling the object towards the centre of the circle has to
be constant

there has to be a constant velocity which is at a 90 degree angle to the net

force.

centripetal force
it is the net force on the object, it always points towards the centre of the motion. it is
measured in newtons.
it is not a type of force just the net force acting on the object going in a circle. any force
can add to it to make centripetal force. (made up of forces)

IB physics circular motion and Gravity 1

 radius
radius of the circular path. measured in m.

centripetal acceleration
it is the acceleration of the object (which points in the same direction as the centripetal
force). measured in m^2.
centripetal acceleration changes the direction of velocity, but does not change the
magnitude of the velocity

Tangential velocity
the distance of the object that moves around the circle changes overtime. measured in
m/s. (tangent to the circular path)

why does the acceleration always point towards the centre of the
circle and velocity at tangent of the circle
the net force points towards the centre and acceleration points in the same direction
as net force

acceleration shows the direction of change in velocity. vector addition shows how
this keeps the object moving in a circle.

because of acceleration, there is a change in velocity, its causing velocity to always

change towards the centre of the circle. so the velocity continues to turn around and
circular motion is maintained. if the acceleration points in the direction of tangential
velocity, it would cause the motion to continue in a straight line (not circular)

period
the amount of time an object takes to complete one full cycle. how long the object takes
to go around the circle. measured in seconds)

Frequency
the amount of repetitions a cycle complletes in one second. how many times the object
goes around the circle in one second. measured in hertz.

IB physics circular motion and Gravity 2

 T= 1/F
Angular velocity

the change in angle around a circle over the change in time. measured in rad/s “radians
per sec” omega

Equations and derivations

tangential velocity
tangential velocity= distance / time
distance = 2 x pie x radius

2πr / time period t= period of motion= 1 / frequency

tangential velocity = 2πr x frequency

Angular velocity
angular velocity = change in degrees / time

angular velocity = 2π / Time t= period of motion = 1 / frequency

angular velocity = 2π x frequency

angular velocity = 2π x frequency

💡 tangential velocity = angular velocity x radius

Centripetal acceleration
acceleration = change in velocity / time taken

IB physics circular motion and Gravity 3

 Centripetal acceleration = (tangential velocity)^2 / radius
acceleration towards the centre of the circle

centripetal acceleration = (tangential velocity)^2 / radius

Centripetal force
centripetal force = the net force

traditional physics states, net force = mass x acceleration

= mass x centripetal acceleration

= mass x { (tangential velocity)^2 / radius) }

Centripetal force = mass x { (tangential velocity)^2 / radius) }

Random: to revolve around a sun, the earth takes 365 days

365 days into seconds = 3.15 x 10^7 seconds

All equations

💡 Time T = 1 / frequency

💡 tangential velocity = 2πr x frequency

💡 angular velocity = 2π x frequency

💡 Centripetal acceleration = { (tangential velocity)^2 / radius) }

💡 Centripetal force = mass x { (tangential velocity)^2 / radius) }

IB physics circular motion and Gravity 4

 Gravity
F = mass x acceleration of gravity

every object with mass creates the force of gravity on other object. the force
always points, towards the centre of the other object.

newtons third law, the force of gravity object 1 creates on object 2 will always
be equal in size and opposide in the direction to the force of gravity objrct 2
creates on object 1. (regardless of the size of the individual objects)

if we put one object infront of the other, there is a gravitational force that exists but we
cannot see it, the force of gravity that objects create on each other are extremely small.
like very small.

size of objects and graavity

larger objects do not create forces of gravity on smaller objects.

newtons 2nd law, the object with less mass is more affected by the same force of gravity
because of newtons 2nd law, force = mass x acceleration

its not that 2 objects with different sizes put different forces of gravity on each other,
they put the exact same force on each other. the differences is not in the forces its in the
masses of the objects, the more mass the less youre affected by the same force.

Force of gravity equation

what you need:

distance between centres of the objects

the masses of the 2 objects

IB physics circular motion and Gravity 5

 Force of gravity = G x ( Mass of obj 1 x Mass off obj 2) / R^2

variables and constants :

F = force of gravity

G = 6.67 x 10^-11 Nm^2 /Kg^2 (constant)

M = mass on object 1

m = mass of object 2

r = distance between the centres of the 2 objects

the force of gravitation which you get (ans) is the objects each face the same object.
random:

💡 common mistake: problems will often say that an object is a certain height
above a planet. the height is not the r in the equation. r means the distance
between the centre of both the objects. so the R would be the radius of the
planet + the height of object above the planet. r = h + R of planet

mass of earth - 5.972 x 10^24 kg

radius of earth = 6.371 x 10^6 m

Acceleration and Gravity equation

acceleration of gravity that any object will experience at a certain distance from another
object.

IB physics circular motion and Gravity 6

 acceleration

variables and constants:

g = the acceleration of gravity due to mass M. (gravitational field)

G = 6.67 x 10^-11

r = distance from the centre of mass m to the point where you are measuring full
stength

M = the mass creating the acceleration of gravity. (not the mass which experiences
it, we are finding that)

Random

problems, where they ask you to find the acceleration of object above the earth
by a certain height

Object and the earth

no matter from which part of earth the object is, as long as the distance
between the objects and above the earth is same, all objects are going to
experience the same acceleration of gravity towards the centre of the earth,
always.

IB physics circular motion and Gravity 7

 if we give objects from different mass, but at the same distance from the earth,
the same tangential velocity, they also have the same centripetal acceleration
because they have the same acceleration of gravity, they will move around the
earth in a circular motion at the same rate because:

they have the same acceleration, same tangential velocity, and same radius

their mass doesnt determine how fast they go when they are in orbit around the
earth.

example: satelites around the earth

if we multiply the acceleration of gravity by mass, we get the force of gravity equation

IB physics circular motion and Gravity 8

 Gravitational field strength
gravitational field strength at a certain point is the gravitational force per unit mass
experienced by a small point mass m placed at that point.
Gravitational field strength is a vector quantity whose direction is given by the direction,
of the force a point mass would experience if placed at the point of interest.

gravitational field strength around a single point or spherical mass is radial, which
means that it points towards the centre of the mass creating the field
Orbital motion

to maintain constant orbit. there must be no frictional forces, so the only force on the
particle is the force of gravitation.

All equations:

💡 Force of gravity = G x ( Mass of obj 1 x Mass off obj 2) / R^2

💡 gravitational field = (G x Mass creating acceleration on object) / r^2

IB physics circular motion and Gravity 9