Uniform Circular

Motion
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Uniform Circular Motion
The motion of an object traveling at a constant (uniform)
speed on a circular path.
Sometimes it is more convenient to describe UCM by
specifying the period T of the motion, rather than the speed.
The period T is the time required to travel once around the
circle (one complete revolution).
There is a relationship between period and speed, since v is
the distance traveled (the circumference of the circle = 2πr)
divided by the time:
v=
r
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Uniform Circular Motion sample problem…
1) The wheel of a car has a radius of r = 0.29 m and is being
rotated at 830 revolutions per minute (rpm) on a tire –
balancing machine. Determine the speed (in m/s) at which the
outer edge of the wheel is moving.
r = 0.29 mT = = 1.2 X10-3 min/revolution

v = = = 25 m/s

2) How long does it take a plane, traveling at a constant speed

of 110 m/s, to fly once around a circle whose radius is 2850 m?
CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION
A body that moves in a circular path at a velocity whose
magnitude is constant is said to undergo uniform circular
motion.
Although the velocity of a body in uniform circular motion is
constant in magnitude, its direction changes
continually. The body is therefore accelerated. The direction of
this centripetal acceleration is toward the center of the circle in
which the body moves, and its magnitude is

The direction of the ac always points toward the center of

the circle and continually changes as the object moves.
5.2 Centripetal Acceleration

In uniform circular motion, the speed is constant, but the

direction of the velocity vector is not constant.

    90
    90

 
5.2 Centripetal Acceleration

v vt

v r

v v 2

t r

2
v
ac 
r
5.2 Centripetal Acceleration

The direction of the centripetal acceleration is towards the

center of the circle; in the same direction as the change in
velocity.

2
v
ac 
r
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CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION sample problem…
The bobsled track at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway,
contained turns with radii of 33 m and 24 m. Find the centripetal
acceleration at each turn for a speed of 34 m/s, a speed that was
achieved in the two-man event. Express the answers as multiples of g =
9.8 m/s2.

@ r = 33 m ac = = = 35 m/s2 = 3.6 g

@ r = 24 m ac = = = 48 m/s2 = 4.9 g

The ac is indeed smaller when the radius is larger. In fact, with r in the
denominator on the right of ac = , the acceleration approaches zero when the radius
becomes very large. Uniform circular motion along the arc of an infinitely large
circles entails no acceleration, because it is just like motion at a constant speed
along a straight line.
CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION sample problem…
1) A car travels at a constant speed around a circular track
whose radius is 2.6 km. The car goes once around the track in
360 s. What is the magnitude of the centripetal acceleration of
the car?
2) Computer-controlled display screens provide drivers in the
Indianapolis 500 with a variety of information about how their
cars are performing. For instance, as a car is going through a
turn, a speed of 221 mi/h (98.8 m/s) and centripetal
acceleration of 3.00 g (three times the acceleration due to
gravity) are displayed. Determine the radius of the turn (in
meters).
CENTRIPETAL FORCE
To produce a centripetal acceleration, a net force
pointing toward the center of the circle is required. This net
force is called the centripetal force Fc
v2
Fc  mac  m
r
where m and v are the mass and speed of the object,
and the r is the radius of the circle. The direction of the
centripetal force vector, like that of the centripetal
acceleration, always points toward the center of the circle.
Sometimes the centripetal force consists of a single force
such as tension, friction, normal force, or the gravitational
force.
CENTRIPETAL FORCE sample problems…
1) The model airplane has a mass of 0.90 kg and moves at
constant speed on a circle that is parallel to the ground.
The path of the airplane and the guideline lie in the same
horizontal plane because the weight of the plane is
balanced by the lift generated by its wings. Find the tension
in the 17 m guideline for a speed of 19 m/s and 38 m/s.

v2
Fc  T  m
r
CENTRIPETAL FORCE sample problems…
1) In a skating stunt known as crack-the-whip, a number of skaters
hold hands and form a straight line. They try to skate so that the
line rotates about the skater at one end, who acts as the pivot.
The skater farthest out has a mass of 80.0 kg and is 6.10 m from
the pivot. He is skating at a speed of 6.80 m/s. Determine the
magnitude of the centripetal force that acts on him.
2) Two cars are traveling at the same speed of 27 m/s on a curve
that has a radius of 120 m. Car A has a mass of 1100 kg, and car B
has a mass of 1600 kg. Find the magnitude of the centripetal
acceleration and the magnitude of the centripetal force for each
car.
3) A 0.015-kg ball is shot from the plunger of a pinball machine.
Because of a centripetal force of 0.028 N, the ball follows a
circular arc whose radius is 0.25 m. What is the speed of the ball?
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Banked Curves

• A vehicle can negotiate a circular turn without relying on

static friction to provide the centripetal force, provided
the turn is banked at an angle relative to the horizontal.
• The angle θ at which a friction-free curve must be banked
is related to the speed v of the vehicle, the radius r of the
curve, and the magnitude g of the acceleration due to
gravity by
tan θ =
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Banked Curves cont…
tan θ =
It indicates that, for a given speed v, the Fc needed for a
turn of radius r can be obtained from the normal force by
banking the turn at an angle θ, independent of the mass of
the vehicle.
Greater speeds and smaller radii require more steeply
banked curved – that is, larger values of θ.
At a speed that is too small for a given θ, a car would slide
down a frictionless banked curve; at a speed that is too large, a
car would slide off the top.
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Banked Curves sample problem
The Daytona 500 is the major event of the NASCAR (Nat’l
Assoc. for Stock Car Auto Racing) season. It is held at the
Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, Florida. The
turns in this oval track have a maximum radius (at the top)
of r = 316 m and are banked steeply, with θ = 31°. Suppose
these maximum-radius turns were frictionless. At what
speed would the cars have to travel around them?
v=
=
= 43 m/s
Banked Curves sample problem
• A jet flying at 123 m/s banks to make a horizontal circular
turn. The radius of the turn is 3810 m, and the mass of
the jet is 2.00 X 105 kg. Calculate the magnitude of the
necessary lifting force.
• Two curves on a highway have the same radii. However,
one is unbanked and the other is banked at an angle A
car can safely travel along the unbanked curve at a
maximum speed v0 under conditions when the
coefficient of static friction between the tires and the
road is µs = 0.81. The banked curve is frictionless, and the
car can negotiate it at the same maximum speed v0. Find
the angle of the banked curve
Banked Curves sample problem
• On a banked race track, the smallest circular path on
which cars can move has a radius of 112 m, while the
largest has a radius of 165 m, as the drawing illustrates.
The height of the outer wall is 18 m. Find (a) the smallest
and (b) the largest speed at which cars can move on this
track without relying on friction.

• Two banked curves have the same radius. Curve A is

banked at an angle of 13°, and curve B is banked at an
angle of 19°. A car can travel around curve A without
relying on friction at a speed of 18 m/s. At what speed
can this car travel around curve B without relying on
friction?
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Satellites in Circular Orbits
When a satellite orbits the Earth, the gravitational force
provides the centripetal force that keeps the satellite moving in
a circular orbit. The speed v and period T of a satellite depend
on the mass ME of the Earth and the radius r of the orbit
according to
v=

T=

where G is the universal gravitational constant.

5.5 Satellites in Circular Orbits

2
mM E v
Fc  G 2  m
r r

GM E
v
r
5.5 Satellites in Circular Orbits

GM E 2 r
v 
r T

2 r32
T
GM E
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Satellites in Circular Orbits sample problem
1) Determine the speed of the Hubble Space Telescope orbiting
at a height of 598 km above the Earth’s surface.

v= =

= 2.58 X104 m/s

Satellites in Circular Orbits sample problem
2) The Hubble telescope has detected the light being
emitted from different regions of galaxy M87. The black
circle identifies the center of the galaxy. From the
characteristics of this light, astronomers have determined
that the orbiting speed is 7.5 X 105 m/s for matter located at
a distance of 5.7 X 1017 m from the center. Find the mass M
of the object located at the galactic center.
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Satellites in Circular Orbits sample problem
What is the height above the Earth’s surface at which all
synchronous satellites (regardless of mass) must be placed in
orbit? A period of 1 day = 8.64 X104 s.
Rearranging the equation

= =

r = 4.23 X107 m
Since the radius of the Earth is approx. 6.38 X10 6 m, the height
of the satellite above the Earth’s surface is
H = 4.23 X107 m – 6.38 X106 m = 3.59 X107 m
Satellites in Circular Orbits sample problem
1) Two satellites are in circular orbits around the earth. The
orbit for satellite A is at a height of 360 km above the
earth’s surface, while that for satellite B is at a height of
720 km. Find the orbital speed for each satellite.
2) The moon orbits the earth at a distance of 3.85 X 108 m.
Assume that this distance is between the centers of the
earth and the moon and that the mass of the earth is
5.98 X 1024 kg. Find the period for the moon’s motion
around the earth. Express the answer in days and
compare it to the length of a month.
Centrifugation
• aka very high speed ultracentrifuge
• used to sediment materials quickly or to separate materials
• when the test tube is positioned and the rotor is turning, the
particle has a tendency to move in a straight line in the direction
of the velocity, but the fluid, resisting the motion of the
particles, exerts a Fc that keeps the particles moving nearly in a
circle
Centrifugation cont…
• usually, the resistance of the fluid (a liquid, a gas, or a gel,
depending on the application) does not quite equal mv2/r,
and the particles eventually reach the bottom of the tube
• the purpose of a centrifuge is to provide an “effective gravity”
much larger than the normal gravity because of the high
rotational speeds, thus causing more rapid sedimentation
Centrifugation sample problem…
• The rotor of an ultracentrifuge rotates at 50 000 rpm. The top
of a 4.00 cm long test tube is 6.00 cm from the rotation axis
and is perpendicular to it. The bottom of the tube is 10.00 cm
from the axis of rotation. Calculate the ac in multiples of g at
the top and the bottom of the tube.

At the top of the tube, a particle revolves in a circle of

circumference 2πr, which is a distance
Gravitational Force