Velocity and Acceleration in Uniform

Circular Motion
• Any particle travelling at constant speed
around a circle is engaged in uniform
circular motion

• Although the speed of a particle in uniform circular

motion is constant, its velocity is not constant because
the direction of the motion is always changing.
 A Car Rounding a Corner
A car is turning a tight corner at a constant speed. A top view of the motion is shown in
the figure below. The velocity vector for the car points to the east at the instant shown.
What is the direction of the acceleration?
 Period and Frequency
• The time interval it takes an object
to go around a circle one time is
called the period of the motion.
• We can specify circular motion by
its frequency, the number of
revolutions per second:

1
f=
T

• The SI unit of frequency is inverse seconds, or s-1

 Instantaneous Speed
• The speed is the time it takes to make one revolution, or:
2p r
v=
T
• We can also write this
equation as:

v = 2p fr

• We can combine this with the expression for centripetal acceleration:

2
v2 æ 2p ö
a= = (2pf ) r = ç ÷ r
2

r èT ø
The circular blade of a table saw is
25 cm in diameter and spins at 3600
rpm. How much time is required for
one revolution? How fast is one of
the teeth at the edge of the blade
moving? What is the tooth’s
acceleration?
PREPARE Before we get started, we need to do a couple of unit
conversions. The diameter of the blade is 0.25 m, so its radius is-10.125
m. The frequency is given in rpm; we need to convert this to s :

rev 1min rev

f =3600 ´ = 60 = 60s-1
min 60s s
SOLVE The time for one revolution is the period. This is given by
Equation:
1 1
T= = -1
= 0.017 s
f 60 s
The speed of the tooth is given by Equation:

vv == 2πp frr = 2π ( 60 s-1 ) ( 0.125m ) = 47m s

SOLVE We can then use below to find the acceleration:

a = (2p f )2 r = (2p (60 s -1 ))2 (0.125 m) = 1.8 ´ 10 4 m/s 2

 Angular Position
It will be more convenient to describe the position of an orbiting
particle in terms of polar coordinates rather than xy-coordinates

q , called the angular position of the

particle, …

• is positive when measured

counterclockwise (ccw)
from the positive x-axis;

• is conveniently measured in radians (SI unit);

• is the single time-dependent quantity of circular motion

 Angular Velocity
• Angular velocity, ω, is a vector quantity that represents the rate of rotation of an
object in circular motion.

• It is defined as the angle θ rotated per unit time and is measured in radians per
second (rad/s).

• The relationship between angular velocity (ω) and linear velocity (v) is given by v = ωr,
where r is the radius of the circle.

• In uniform circular motion, ω remains constant, even though the direction of linear
velocity changes.

• Using ω, acceleration is also given by a = ω2r

 Period and Frequency with ω

• Angular velocity is also related to the period (T) and frequency (f) of circular motion.

• The formula connecting these quantities is ω = 2π/T = 2πf.

• For any point on the rotating object, ω remains the same regardless of the distance
from the center.
A hard drive disk rotates at 7200 rpm. The disk has a diameter
of 13 cm. What is the speed of a point 6.0 cm from the center
axle? What is the acceleration of this point on the disk?
Dynamics of Uniform Circular Motion

• Riders traveling around on a circular carnival ride are

accelerating.
• According to Newton’s second law, the riders must have a net
force acting on them.
• The net force is:
 Dynamics of Uniform Circular Motion

• A particle of mass m moving at constant

speed v around a circle of radius r must
2
always have a net force of magnitude mv /r
pointing toward the center of the circle.

• This is not a new kind of force: The net

force is due to one or more of our familiar
forces such as tension, friction, or the
normal force.
A coin is rotating on a turntable; it moves without sliding. At the
instant shown in the figure, which arrow gives the direction of
the coin’s velocity?
A coin is rotating on a turntable; it moves without sliding. At
the instant shown in the figure, which arrow gives the direction
of the frictional force on the coin?
A coin is rotating on a turntable; it moves without sliding. At the
instant shown, suppose the frictional force disappeared. In what
direction would the coin move?
A car is moving at a constant speed and goes into a dip in the road. At
the very bottom of the dip, is the normal force of the road on the car
greater than, less than, or equal to the car’s weight?
What is the maximum speed with which a
1500kg car can make a turn around a curve of
radius 20 m on a level (unbanked) road without
sliding?
SOLVE The only force in the x-direction, toward the center of the
circle, is static friction. Newton’s second law along the x-axis is:

mv 2
å Fx = fs = r
Newton’s second law in the y-
direction is:

åF y = n - w = may = 0

so that n = w = mg.
SOLVE The car will slide when the static friction force reaches its
maximum value. Recall from Equation 5.7 in Chapter 5 that this
maximum force is given by:

fs max = µs n = µs mg

Thus the maximum speed occurs at the maximum value of the

force of static friction, or when:

mv max 2
fs max =
r
SOLVE Using the known value of fs max, we find:

mv max 2
= fs max = µs mg
r
Rearranging, we get:
v max 2 = µs gr
For rubber tires on pavement, we find from Table 5.2 that
µ = 1.0. We then have:
s

v max = µs gr = (1.0 ) ( 9.8 m/s2 ) ( 20m ) = 14m/s

A curve on a racetrack of radius 70 m is banked
at a 15° angle. At what speed can a car take this
curve without assistance from friction?
SOLVE Without friction, nx = n sin θ is the only
component of force toward the center of the
circle. It is this inward component of the normal
force on the car that causes it to turn the corner.
Newton’s second law is:

mv 2
å Fx = n sinq = r
å Fy = n cosq - w = 0
where θ is the angle at which the road is
banked, and we’ve assumed that the car is
traveling at the correct speed ν.
SOLVE From the y-equation:
w mg
n= =
cosq cosq
Substituting this into the x-equation and
solving for ν gives:

mph, a reasonable speed.

Only at this exact speed can the turn be negotiated
without reliance on friction forces.
Wings and spoilers on cars increase downforce, causing greater
normal forces & so too greater frictional forces (i.e. better grip)

Banked roads help

motion in a circle too
 Maximum Walking Speed
In a walking gait, your body is in
circular motion as you pivot on
your forward foot.
Maximum Walking Speed
Newton’s second law for the x-
axis is:
mv 2
å Fx = w - n = r
Setting n = 0 in Newton’s
second law gives:
mv max 2
w = mg =
r
v max = gr
The maximum possible walking speed is limited by r, the length
of the leg, and g, the free-fall acceleration.
 Centrifugal Forces are Apparent

When moving in a circle, there is an apparent force that seems to

push an object to the outside of the circle … However, there is no
such actual force, just a feeling or sensation of one!
 Vertical Circles
Motion in a vertical circle is NOT uniform

On its way down,

the body speeds up;
on its way up,
the body slows down ...

Since always points downwards …

at the top of the circle it lies in the same

direction as the tension force provided by the string;

at the bottom, tension and weight are anti-parallel

 Vertical Circles
Apparent weight is actually a sensation arising from the contact
forces which support you, rather than an awareness of the
gravitational force of the Earth which acts simultaneously on
every part of you ...

At the bottom of a vertical circle …

m ( vbot )
2

å Fx = ( +n ) + ( -w ) = r
m ( vbot )
2

\ wapp = n = w +
r
The extra force required to achieve this
is what “adds to your g’s” in a bottom turn
 Vertical Circles
• Your sensation of weight changes on roller coasters as you go
over crests and through dips.
• The force you feel is the contact force that supports you.
A car is rolling over the top of a
hill at speed v.

At this instant,

A n>w
B n=w
C n<w
D we can’t tell about n without knowing v

31
A physics textbook swings back and
forth as a pendulum. Which is the
correct free-body diagram when the
book is at the bottom and moving to
the right?
A roller coaster car does a loop-the-loop. Which of the free-body
diagrams shows the forces on the car at the top of the loop?
Rolling friction can be neglected.
A handful of professional skaters have taken a
skateboard through an inverted loop in a full
pipe. For a typical pipe with a diameter of 4m,
what is the minimum speed the skater must
have at the very top of the loop?
 Centrifuges
• The centrifuge is used to separate
components of a liquid that have different
densities.

• Centrifuges produce centripetal

accelerations many times greater than free-
fall acceleration.

• Cells or cell components can be separated

into different densities in minutes or hours
instead of days in a centrifuge.
 Try It Yourself: Human Centrifuge

If you spin your arm rapidly in a

vertical circle, the motion will
produce an effect like that in a
centrifuge. The motion will assist
outbound blood flow in your arteries
and retard inbound blood flow in
your veins. There will be a buildup of
fluid in your hand that you will be
able to see (and feel!) quite easily.
An 18-cm-diameter ultracentrifuge produces an
extraordinarily large centripetal acceleration of 250,000g,
where g is the free-fall acceleration due to gravity. What is
its frequency in rpm? What is the apparent weight of a
sample with a mass of 0.0030 kg?
STRATEGIZE We will use the equation for the relationship between
the centripetal acceleration and the frequency and radius:

2
æ 2p ö
2
v
= ( 2p f ) r = ç
2
a= ÷ r
r èT ø

PREPARE The acceleration in S I units is:

a = 250,000 ( 9.80 m / s2 ) = 2.45 ´10 6 m / s 2

The radius is half the diameter, or r = 9.0 cm = 0.090 m.

SOLVE We can rearrange Equation 6.5 to find the frequency
given the centripetal acceleration:

1 a 1 2.45 ´ 106 m / s2
f = = = 830 rev / s
2p r 2p 0.090 m
Converting to rpm, we find:
rev 60s
830 ´ = 50,000 rpm
s 1 min
The acceleration is so high that every force is negligible except
for the force that provides the centripetal acceleration.
SOLVE The net force is simply equal to the inward force, which is
also the sample’s apparent weight:

( )( )
w app = Fnet = ma = 3.0 ´ 10 -3 kg 2.45 ´ 10 6 m / s2 = 7.4 ´ 10 3 N

The 3 gram sample has an effective weight of about 770kg!

ASSESS Because the acceleration is 250,000g, the apparent

weight is 250,000 times the actual weight. This makes sense, as
does the fact that we calculated a very high frequency, which is
necessary to give the large acceleration.
A car of mass 1500 kg goes over a
hill at a speed of 20 m/s. The shape
of the hill is approximately circular,
with a radius of 60 m, as in the
figure. When the car is at the
highest point of the hill,
A. What is the force of gravity on
the car?
B. What is the normal force of the
road on the car at this point?
 Circular Orbits

• The force of gravity on a projectile is directed toward the

center of the earth.
• As the initial speed vi is increased, the ground curves out from
under the projectile from its perspective.
 Circular Orbits
The force which keeps satellites (including the Moon) moving in
circular orbits around the Earth is nothing other than the
gravitational force of the Earth on them

A near-Earth satellite will

maintain its circular orbit only if
its centripetal acceleration is
equal to ...

i.e. if
 Circular Orbits
• The force of gravity is the force that causes the centripetal
acceleration of an orbiting object:
Fnet w mg
a= = = =g
m m m
• An object moving in a circle of radius r at speed vorbit will have
this centripetal acceleration if:

( v orbit )
2

a= =g
r
• That is, if an object moves parallel to the surface with the
speed:

v orbit = gr
 Weightlessness in Orbit
• Astronauts and their spacecraft are in free fall.
 Newton’s Law of Gravitation

• Gravity is a universal force

that affects all objects in
the universe.
• Newton proposed that the
force of gravity has the
following properties:

1. The force is inversely proportional to the square of the

distance between the objects.
2. The force is directly proportional to the product of the
masses of the two objects.
 Newton’s Law of Gravitation
Newton’s law of gravity If two objects with masses m1 and m2 are a
distance r apart, the objects exert attractive forces on each other of
magnitude

Gm1 m2
F1 on 2 = F2 on 1 =
r2
The forces are directed along the line joining the two objects. The
constant G is called the gravitational constant. In SI units,

G = 6.67 ´ 10 -11 N × m2 / Kg2

• Newton’s law of gravity is an inverse-square law.
• Doubling the distance between two masses causes the force
between them to decrease by a factor of 4.
You are seated in your physics class next to another student
0.60m away. Estimate the magnitude of the gravitational force
between you. Assume that you each have a mass of 65 kg.
 Gmyoumother student
F( you)on(other student ) =
r2

=
( )
6.67 ´ 10 -11 N × m2 / Kg2 ( 65 Kg )( 65 Kg )
( 0.60 m )
2

= 7.8 ´ 10 -7 N
 Gravity and Orbits
• Newton’s second law tells us
that FM on m = ma, where FM on m
is the gravitational force of the
large body on the satellite and a
is the satellite’s acceleration.
• Because it’s moving in a circular
orbit, Newton’s second law gives

GMm mv 2
FM on m = 2
= ma =
r r
A satellite is orbiting the Earth at a height of 300 km above the
Earth's surface. Given that the radius of the Earth is
approximately 6371 km and the gravitational constant (G) is
6.674×10^-11 N·m²/kg², calculate the following:

a) The speed of the satellite in its orbit.

b) b) The period of the satellite's orbit.

Assume the mass of the Earth (M) is 5.972 × 10^24 kg.

 Gravity and Orbits
• For a planet orbiting the sun, the
period T is the time to complete
one full orbit. The relationship
among speed, radius, and period
is the same as for any circular
motion:

v = 2p r / T
• Combining this with the value of
v for a circular orbit from
Equation 6.21 gives

GM 2p r
=
r T
 Gravity and Orbits
• If we square both sides and
rearrange, we find the period
of a satellite:
Two satellites have circular orbits with the same radius. Which
has a higher speed?
A. The one with more mass.
B. The one with less mass.
C. They have the same speed
Two satellites have circular orbits with the same radius. Which
has a higher speed?
A. The one with more mass.
B. The one with less mass.
C. They have the same speed
Two identical satellites have different circular orbits. Which has a
higher speed?

A. The one in the larger orbit

B. The one in the smaller orbit
C. They have the same speed.
Two identical satellites have different circular orbits. Which has a
higher speed?

A. The one in the larger orbit

B. The one in the smaller orbit
C. They have the same speed.
Communication satellites appear to “hover”
over one point on the earth’s equator. A
satellite that appears to remain stationary as
the earth rotates is said to be in a
geostationary orbit. What is the radius of the
orbit of such a satellite?
SOLVE We solve for the radius of the orbit by rearranging
Equation 6.22. The mass at the center of the orbit is the earth:

1
æ GMeT 2 ö 3
r =ç ÷
è 4p 2
ø
1

( )( )(
æ 6.67 ´ 10 -11 N × m2 /kg2 5.98 ´ 10 24 kg 8.64 ´ 10 4s ) ö
2 3

=ç ÷
ç 4p 2 ÷
è ø
= 4.22 ´ 107 m