DEFINITIONS & FORMULAE

1. Angular displacement: The angular displacement of a particle moving along a

circular path is defined as the angle swept out by its radius vector in the given time
interval.

S.I unit of angular displacement is radian.

Angular displacement is a dimensionless quantity.
2. Angular velocity: It is the rate of change of angular displacement of a particle.
Instantaneous angular velocity,
S.I unit of angular velocity is radian per sec (rad/s). Its dimension is .
3. Time Period: It is the time taken by a particle to complete one revolution.
It is denoted by T and its S.I unit is second (s).
4. Frequency: It is the no: of revolutions completed by a particle in one second.
It is denoted by . . Its S.I unit is hertz (Hz) or .
5. Relation between angular velocity , frequency and time period

6. Angular acceleration: It is the rate of change of angular velocity of a particle.

It is denoted as . Its S.I unit is rad/. Its dimension is .
Instantaneous acceleration,

NOTE:
Angular displacement
Q. Derive the relation between linear velocity and angular velocity.
Consider a particle moving along a circular path of radius r. Suppose the particle moves
from P to Q in a time covering a distance along the arc PQ .
Angular displacement of the particle is
Dividing both sides by , we get
Taking the limit on both sides,
 Relation between angular acceleration and linear acceleration
Relation between linear velocity and angular velocity is .
Differentiating both sides with respect to time, .

UNIFORM CIRCULAR MOTION

Q. Define uniform circular motion. Why is it called an accelerated motion?
Uniform circular motion is the circular motion of a particle with uniform speed and
variable velocity.
In uniform circular motion, the speed of the body remains the same but the direction of
motion along the tangent changes at every point (variable velocity). Rate of change of
velocity is acceleration. So uniform circular motion is an accelerated motion.
Egs: Motion of the tip of the second hand of a clock.
Q. Define centripetal acceleration.
A body undergoing uniform circular motion is acted upon by an acceleration which is directed
along the radius towards the centre of the circular path. This acceleration is called centripetal
acceleration.
Q. Derive an expression for the centripetal acceleration of a particle moving with uniform
speed along a circular path of radius r. Discuss the direction of this acceleration.
Consider a particle moving in a circular path of radius r with a uniform speed v. Let P and Q
be the positions of the particle at times and respectively.
(REFER NOTEBOOK FOR DIAGRAMS AND DERIVATION STEPS)
Centripetal acceleration acts along the radius towards the centre of the circle.
NOTE:
1. Centripetal acceleration is not a constant vector. Its magnitude is constant but its direction
changes continuously, pointing always towards the centre of the circle.
2. Centripetal acceleration vector remains perpendicular to the velocity vector at all
positions.
 NON UNIFORM CIRCULAR MOTION
Write an expression for the resultant acceleration of a particle having non uniform
circular motion.

As the speed of the particle changes, acceleration has a tangential component .

As the direction of motion changes continuously, acceleration has a radial component .
The resultant acceleration of the particle will be
 NUMERICALS
1. Which is greater? – the angular velocity of hour hand of a watch or angular velocity of
earth around its axis.

2. Calculate the angular speed of a fly wheel that makes 420 revolutions per minute.
3. An insect trapped in a circular groove of radius 12cm moves along the groove steadily and
completes 7 revolutions in 100s. (i) What is the angular speed and linear speed of motion?
(ii) Is the acceleration vector a constant vector? What is its magnitude? (iii) What is its linear
displacement?

4. A motor car travelling at 30m/s on a circular road of radius 500m. It is increasing the
speed at the rate of 2m/. What is the acceleration?

5. Calculate the linear acceleration of a particle moving in a circle of radius 0.4m at the
instant when its angular velocity is 2rad/s and its angular acceleration is 5rad/ .