Circular motion

Circular motion:
• Angular displacement, velocity and acceleration
• Relation between angular and linear velocity and
acceleration
• Centripetal acceleration
• Centripetal force
• Conical pendulum
• Motion in a vertical circle
• Application of banking
Circular motion:
The motion of a body moving in a circular path is
called the circular motion.
When a body moves in a circle at constant
speed, the motion is called uniform circular
motion.
Angular displacement
It is defined as the angle traced out by the radius
vector at the center of the circular path in a
given time.
θ=

The SI unit of angular displacement is

radian(rad).
Angular velocity:
The rate of change of angular displacement is
called angular velocity. It is denoted by .
SI unit of angular velocity is radian per second
(rad)
The instantaneous angular velocity is the
angular velocity at an instance of motion or at a
point on its circular path and is defined as
 Angular acceleration:
The rate of change of angular velocity is called
angular acceleration. It is denoted by .
angular acceleration )
If are the initial and final angular velocities and t
is the time taken to change the angular velocity,
then
Angular acceleration is measured in radian per
second square ( rad ).And Its dimensional
formula is [ .
It is also written as,
Time period (T):
The period of an object in circular motion
is defined as the time taken to complete one
revolution. It is denoted by T.
Frequency (f):
The number of revolutions completed per
second by an object in circular motion is called
frequency and is denoted by f.
Relation among angular velocity, frequency
and time period
Relation between angular velocity and
linear velocity:
Suppose a particle of mass m moving in a
circular path of radius r with constant velocity v.
Let be the angular displacement when particle
goes from point P to Q in time t as shown in
figure. If s is the arc length PQ, then,
Centripetal acceleration
Acceleration experienced by an object moving in
circular motion is called centripetal acceleration.
An object moving in circle is constantly changing
direction and so its velocity is constantly
changing. Therefore, there must be an
acceleration.
Consider a particle moving along a circular path of
radius r and center O with uniform angular
velocity in anticlockwise direction as in figure.
Suppose the plane of the circle is XY plane and
origin coincide with the center of the circle.
Suppose that the particle starts from point A on
the X- axis and in time t it reaches at point P(x,y)
such that
The position vector of the particle at time t is
given by
=

Velocity of the particle at time t is given by;

Centripetal force:
Centripetal force is the force required to move a
body uniformly in a circle.
This force acts along the radius and is directed
towards the center of the circle.
Centripetal force = mass x centripetal
acceleration
F=m =
Centrifugal Force:
The outward force experienced by a body when
it changes its direction is called centrifugal force.
It is a fictitious force because it only comes to
play when there is a centripetal force.
Conical pendulum ( motion of the body in
horizontal circle)
A conical pendulum is the
simple pendulum whirled
In a horizontal circle such
that the string makes a
constant angle with the
vertical and traces the
surface of a right circular
cone.
Consider an object of mass ‘m’ tied to a string of
length and whirled in a horizontal circle of radius
‘r’ with velocity ‘v’ as shown in figure.
Suppose O is the point of suspension of the string
and B is the center of the circle. The string makes
an angle with the vertical.
The Tension ‘T’ on the string has two
components ,
Tcos acts vertically upward balances the weight.
Tsin acts towards the center provides the
required centripetal force.
Motion in vertical circle
Let us consider a body of mass m is tied at the end of a
string and rotated in a vertical circle of radius r in
anticlockwise direction. Suppose and , TA and TC be the
velocities of the body and tension in the string at the
lowest and highest point of the motion A and C
respectively. When the body moves from A to C, its
velocity decreases and becomes minimum at point C
whereas its velocity increases when it moves from C to
A and becomes maximum at point A.
At Lowest point A
Here, the weight(mg) and tension (TA) are opposite.
So, TA - mg provides the necessary centripetal force.
i.e. TA – mg = mvA2/r
TA = mvA2/r + mg ………(i)
At highest point C
Here, both weight(mg) and tension (Tc) are acting towards the
centre O.
So, Tc + mg provides the necessary centripetal force.
i.e. Tc + mg = mvc2/r
Tc =mvc2/r - mg ………………..(ii)
On comparing eqns (i) and (ii), maximum tension is at the
lowest point A and minimum tension is at highest point
C(i.e.TA > TC).
If TC = 0 then equation (ii) becomes,
mg = mvc2/r
vc = ………..(iii)
This is the value for critical speed below which the body will
fall down from highest point of loop without completing the
circle.
According to the principle of conservation of energy,
Total energy at A = Total energy at C
Or, (K.E + P.E ) at A = (K.E. + P.E.) at C
Or, ½ mvA2 + 0 = ½ mvc2 + mg.2r
Or, vA2 = 4gr + vc2
Or, vA2= 4gr + gr
Or, vA= ………(iv)
Therefore, in order to complete the loop, the velocity at
lowest point must be times the critical velocity at highest
point.
 Motion of a car in circular level road
Let us suppose a car is going round a
horizontally curved road. While
rounding the curve, the wheels of the
car have tendency to leave the
curved path. The force of friction
between the wheels and the road
opposes this tendency of the wheels.
So, the centripetal force that causes
the car to move in the circular path
is the frictional force exerted on the
tyres by the road.
Let F1 and F2 be the forces of friction between the wheels and the road
and r be the radius of curved track.
Total frictional forces on tyres
F = F1 + F 2 ………………..(1)
Again, we have,
F1 = μ R1
F 2 = μ R2
so F = μ R1+ μ R2
= μ (R1+ R2)
As there is no motion of the car in the vertical direction, we have
R1+ R2 = mg
Thus, F = μ mg
This frictional force gives the required
Centripetal force so,

μ mg = mv2/r

v = ………………

This is the maximum velocity for a car that can take a circular turn of
radius r and coefficient of friction μ.
 Banking of track
The centripetal force of a car
moving in a circular path cannot
always depend on friction,
especially if the road is icy or wet.
In this case, the roads are banked
as shown in the figure. The raising
of the outer edge of the track a
little above the inner edge is called
the banking of the road.
The frictional force can be resolved into two components i.e.
R sinθ towards the centre and R cosθ towards the vertically
downwards where θ is the banking angle or angle of
inclination of the plane with the horizontal. Then,
R sinθ = mv2/r ………………1
R cosθ = mg ………………….2

Dividing ……
Tanθ = ……
 Bending of cyclist
Let us ……….
R sinθ = mv2/r …….1
R cosθ = mg ……………2

Dividing ……
Tanθ = ……
 Formula for numericals:
• θ=

•
•
• t ( time period for conical
pendulum)
• T=
Numerical Questions: