Summer Work: Circular Motion and Gravitation

By the end of summer, I must know

period, frequency, angular displacement and angular velocity
centripetal force
centripetal acceleration
Newton’s Law of Gravitation
Gravitational Field strength

By the end of the summer, I must be able to

identify the forces providing centripetal forces (such as tension, friction,
gravitational, electrical, or magnetic)
solve problems involving centripetal force, centripetal acceleration, period,
frequency. angular displacement, linear speed and angular velocity
qualitatively and quantitatively describing examples of circular motion
including cases of vertical and horizontal circular motion
describe the relationship between gravitational force and centripetal force
apply Newton’s law of gravitation to the motion of an object in circular orbit
around a point mass
solve problems involving gravitational force, gravitational eld strength, orbital
speed and orbital period
determine the resultant gravitational eld strength due to two bodies

Available Resources:
• Must Read: Kognity. (Progress will be checked)
• Additional Resources: Chapter from Hamper and Tsokos linked below.
• Phet Simulations: Gravity Force Labs: Basics and Gravity and Orbits

Go through the resources and work on the tasks. There are only 3 tasks for this module.
• Task 1: De nitions and Outlines
• Task 2: Basic problem solving
• Task 3: More challenging problems

Our rst task in August is a problem set and the formative, closely followed by the
summative.
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 Task 1: De nitions, Outlines, Descriptions

1. Outline conditions that would lead to circular motion.

A balanced centripetal force

2. De ne the following in the context of circular motion

a. period T

The time it takes for the object to complete one revolution

b. frequency f

The amount of revolutions that the object is able to complete in 1 second

c. angular displacement θ
The change in the angle of a body with respect to its initial angular
position

d. a radian

The angle where the arc length of the circle is equal to the radius

e. Centripetal force

The inwards force that keeps the object move in a circular path

f. Centripetal acceleration

The inwards acceleration that the object experiences in the circular path

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3. List ten examples of circular motion. Be speci c on which body is undergoing circular
motion and what causes centripetal force.
Example Body undergoing circular Centripetal Force
motion
A child doing a yoyo trick
shown

Yoyo mass Tension on the string

(Image: How Stu Works)

ONE

Flying
The blades of the
helicopter Tension on the
propeller
blades

TWO

Tension on the
Passenger
Ferris wheel iron support
cabins

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Example Body undergoing circular Centripetal Force
motion

THREE

Earth in orbit Planet earth Gravity of the sun

FOUR

Slapping someone The hand Tension on the arm

FIVE

Fidget spinner Blades of the fidget spinner Tension on the material

SIX

The skater The skater’s body control

Ice skating around the pool

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 Example Body undergoing circular Centripetal Force
motion

SEVEN

Atom Electrons Magnetic force

EIGHT

Tension on the
Club head
arm and the club
Golf swing

NINE

The horses on the Tension on the

Merry go round merry go round facility

TEN

Stirring eggs The whisk or the spoon The hand

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 4. Outline an experiment that will allow you to investigate uniform circular motion.
a. What relationship would you test? (RQ)
b. What are your variables and how will you manipulate/measure/control them? (IV,
DV, Controlled)
c. What materials will you use? (Materials)
d. How will you collect data? (Procedure)
e. How will you nd the relationship? (Analysis)

a. The relationship between the mass of the bob and the velocity that it travels on a simple
pendulum

b.
IV: Mass of the bob, manipulate by using different masses of hooked weights
DV: The time it takes for the bob to arrive at the other side of the pendulum, measured by a stopwatch
Controlled:
1. The length of the string that holds the bob
2. The initial angle to release the bob from

c. Clamp or iron stand, hooked weights, string, ruler or measuring tape, protractor, tape, scissors

d. Each IV will be done for 5 trials. The timer will start when the bob is released, and will stop when the
bob reaches its maximum displacement on the other side. The average velocity of the bob can be
derived from displacement/time

e. I don’t think there will be a relationship, I set up this experiment just to prove that there is no
relationship

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 5. De ne what is meant by a point mass.

A particle with an existent mass but with negligible volume

6. State Newton’s Law of Gravitation

Any two particles in the universe has a force that attracts each other

7. State what the universal gravitational constant is, and outline how it was found.

Universal gravitational constant (G) is involved in the calculation of the gravitational force
between 2 bodies
G can be found making measurements, and its value is approximately 6.674×10^−11 m3⋅kg−1⋅s−2

8. Outline the similarities and differences between ELECTRIC FORCES and

GRAVITATIONAL FORCES.

Similarities:
1. Both are non-contact forces
2. Can be existent between point particles

Differences:
1. Electric forces act between charges, while gravitational forces act between masses
2. Gravitational force acts on everything, but electric forces only act on charged objects

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 9. Describe what is meant by a gravitational eld.

A model that is used to explain the force field that is extended by a massive body

10. Sketch the gravitational eld caused by a planet in roughly empty space. Show eld
lines and equipotential lines.

11. De ne a uniform gravitational eld, and sketch what that looks like using eld lines.

An ideal field where all the field lines are normal to the surface, parallel to each other
and acceleration is only allowed in one direction

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 12. De ne gravitational eld strength.

The intensity of the gravitational field that has on a mass or attracts other masses

13. Describe what is meant by a small test mass.

A particle that has negligible mass that is used to test the

gravitational field strength of a far more massive mass

14. Sketch a graph of how the gravitational eld strength (g) varies with the distance (r)
from a planet. rp refers to the radius of a planet.

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 Task 2: Basic Problem Solving

1. Basic math skills.

a. Convert an angle of 137° to radians.

~2.39 rad

b. How many degrees and radians does a rotating object pass through in the process
of ve revolutions?

900º or 10π rad

c. If two circular motions are seen to be completely out of phase, what is the phase
difference between them in degrees and in radians?

180º or π rad

π
d. If two oscillations are out of phase, what fraction of an oscillation is between
2
them?

1/4

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 2. If an object completes exactly 20 rotations in 34.6 s, calculate its frequency and its
angular velocity.

f = 0.578 Hz
ω = 3.63 rad s^-1

3. A point mass completes 14.7 rotations in exactly one minute.

a. What is its angular velocity?
b. If its distance from the center of rotation is 58 cm, what is its linear speed?

a.
ω = 1.54 rad s^-1

b.
v = ωr = 1.54*0.58 = 0.893 ms^-1

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 4. Consider a ball of mass 72 g whirled with a constant speed of 3.4 m s-1 around a nearly
horizontal circle of radius 65 cm on the end of a thin piece of string, as shown.

a. Calculate the centripetal acceleration and force.

b. Explain why the force provided by the string cannot act horizontally.
c. Explain a probable reason the string breaks when the speed is increased to 5.0 m s-1.
d. In what direction does the ball move immediately after the string breaks?

a.
a= v^2/r = 3.4^2/0.65 = 17.8 ms^-2
b.
The string can only apply forces when it is under tension
The string cannot be stressed in any attempt of trying to
apply a horizontal force to the ball

c.
The string will break when the stress on it exceeds its
plasticity limit

d.
The tangential direction to the circular path

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 5. Consider the roller coasters where at some point you are put upside down on a loop,
or other amusement park rides that keep you upside down at some point. Explain how
it’s possible for passengers to be upside-down without falling out of the carriage.

This will happen when the centrifugal force applied the roller coaster exceeds
the gravitational force, therefore the passengers will remain in the vehicle
instead of falling out

6. A car of mass 1240 kg moves around a bend of radius 63 m on a horizontal road at a

speed of 18 m s-1. If the car was to be driven any faster there would not be enough
friction and it would begin to skid.
a. Determine a value for the coef cient of friction between the road and the tires.
b. Is this a coef cient of static friction or dynamic friction?
c. Would a heavier car be able to drive faster around this bend?

a.
µ = tan θ = sinθ/cosθ = Ft sinθ / Ft cosθ b. dynamic
= mg/Fc = mg/(mv^2/r) = gr/v^2 = 1.91

c. NO

7. The average distance between the Earth and the Moon is 384000 km and the Moon
takes 27.3 days to orbit the Earth.
a. Calculate the average orbital speed of the Moon.
b. What is the centripetal acceleration of the Moon towards the Earth?

a.
v = ωr = 2πfr = 2πr/T = 2π*384000000/2358720 = 1023 ms^-1

b.
a = v^2/r = 1023^2/384000000 = 0.00272 ms^-2

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 8. Calculate the gravitational force acting between the Earth and a 1.0 kg book on the
Earth’s surface. The Earth’s mass is 6.0 x 1024 kg and its radius is 6.4 x 106 m.

F = Gm1m2/r^2 = 6.6743*10^-11*1*6.0*10^24/
(6.4*10^6)^2= 9.78 N

9. Calculate the gravitational eld strength on the surface of the Moon. The mass of the
Moon is 7.35 x 1022 kg and its radius is 1740 kg.

g = GM/r^2 = 6.6743*10^-11 * 7.35*10^22 / (1740000)^2

= 1.62 ms^-2

10. Calculate the gravitational eld strength at a point on the Earth’s surface due to the
Moon (not the Earth) assuming that the distance between the center of the Moon and
the Earth’s surface is 3.8 x 108 m.

g = GM/r^2 = 6.6743*10^-11 * 7.35*10^22 / (3.8*10^8)^2

= 3.40 * 10^-5

11. Calculate the gravitational eld strength on the surface of the planet Venus. The radius
of Venus is 6050 km, and the average density of the planet is 5.2 x 103 kg m-3.

g = GM/r^2 = 6.6743*10^-11 * 4/3 * πr^3 * 5.2* 10^3 /r^2 = 8.79 ms^-2

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 12. The gure below is not drawn to scale. Point P is a point midway between the centers
of planets A and B. At P the gravitational eld strength due to A is 4.0 N kg-1 and that
due to B is 3.0 N kg-1.
a. What is the total gravitational eld strength at point P?
b. What is the combined gravitation eld strength at a point Q, which is the same
distance from A as P?

a.
1.0 N kg^-1

b.
Where Q ( I no see diagram)

13. Io is a moon of Jupiter. It is an average distance of 422000 km from the center of Jupiter
and takes 1.77 days to complete an orbit. Calculate the mass Jupiter.

Fc = Fg
4π^2 * mr/T^2 = G* mM/r^2
M = 4π^2 * r^3/ GT^2 = 4π^2 * (422000000)^3 /
(6.6743*10^-11) (152928)^2
= 1.90 * 10^27 kg

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 Task 3: More Challenging Problems
RULE: Answer in complete sentences.
Do not hesitate to refer to your command terms to answer each item properly. You are
allowed to refer to resources for this.

14. Sometimes, you will still hear people say that the water is removed from clothes in a
spin dryer by centrifugal force throwing the water outward. Discuss the validity of this
statement.

This statement is not correct. The centrifugal force only lets

the water to come out to the surface of the fabric instead of
throwing them out. The water is removed because of the
kinetic energy of the clothes turning into thermal energy
during motion, and the thermal energy allows the water to be
evaporated.

15. A car travels around a sharp curve at a constant rate of 60 km h-1. Deduce whether the
same car traveling at the same speed will have the same centripetal acceleration if it
travels around a gentle curve.

No, because if the curve is more gentle, it means that the

car is traveling in a circular path of a larger radius. Since
a = v^2/r , this will make the car to have less centripetal
acceleration

16. Explain how a bucket of water can be whirled in a vertical circle without the water
spilling out, even at the top of the circle when the bucket is upside down.

This will happen when the net force of the water at the top
position is 0 or towards an upwards direction. This can be
accomplished when the centrifugal force acting on the
water exceeds the gravitational force that pulls the water
towards the ground

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17. Consider a typical car that you ride. How many accelerators are there in a typical car?
List at least three controls that can cause a car to accelerate, and outline how they make
a car accelerate.

1. Accelerator pedal - step to increase acceleration

2. Brake pedal - step to decrease acceleration
3. Steering wheel - rotate to manipulate the direction of the
acceleration

18. A child on a sled comes ying over the crest of a small hill as shown below. His sled
does not leave the ground, but he feels the normal force between his chest and the sled
decrease as he goes over the hill. Show this decrease using Newton’s second law.

The normal force that the child experience is equals to mg *

cosθ, where m is the child’s mass, g is the gravitational
acceleration, and θ is the angle of his motion from the
horizontal. Since cosθ is at maximum when θ=0, when the
sled encounters a hill, the trajectory of the motion of the
sled is altered as the θ is increased. Considering θ < 90º,
the value of cosθ will be decreased, therefore decreasing
the normal force that the child is experiencing from the
sled.

19. Explain why bicycle riders lean inward when rounding a curve at high speed.

If cyclists don’t lean inwards when taking a sharp

turn, they will be thrown out by the centrifugal force

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