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FORCE AND CIRCULAR MOTION
You may have observed following phenomena:
1 An athlete running in a circular path leans inwards towards the centre.
2 A bucket of water is swung round in a horizontal circle without water spilling out.
3 Children playing on a merry-go-round, the machines rotates fast making a circular
motion.
These and many other similar effects are as a result of motion of bodies in a circular path.
Circular motion and centripetal force
Sir Isaac Newton noted that the motion in a straight line is a common phenomenon and that
deviations from this type of motion are caused by a force pulling the body out of line. When
the force acts on the body from a fixed point, then the body describes a circular motion.
Consider a body for example, a stone tied at the end of a rope being whirled about point O
at the other end of the rope, held in one’s hand as shown below and hence undergoing
motion in a curved path.
- In this example we can see that a force is needed to make the stone move in its curved
path.
- This is the force that one feels in the string as the stone is being whirled around without
which circular motion cannot occur.
- This force must be exerted to keep the stone moving in a circle, that is, to divert it
continually from moving along the tangent to the path to moving along the circular arc.-
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- It acts in the string and is the tension in the string. It is called centripetal force and the
equal but opposite reaction to it – the pull of the mass on the string is called centrifugal
force. The figure below illustrate these forces.
Centripetal and centrifugal forces
Note: With no centripetal force on it, the stone will proceed along a straight path at a constant
speed as the first of motion predicts.
Illustrations of what happens when string snaps
- Centripetal force (from Latin word centripetal means centre seeking) is a force that acts
on a body t cause it to move in a circular path. Its direction is perpendicular and
towards the centre of the circular path.
- Centripetal force is generally the cause of circular motion.
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- For an object with mass, m, moving in a circle of radius, r, with constant speed, v the
centripetal force acting on the object is given by:
mv2
Centripetal force F =
r
mv2
F= , where , m =the mass of the object (kg)
r
v =the speed (m/s)
r is the radius of the circular path (m)
F = centripetal force (N)
Example
A 1 200 kg car turns a corner with a radius of 32 m at 4m/s. calculate the centripetal force of the
road on the tyres of the car.
Solution
mv2
F= data
r
(42 ) 𝑚/𝑠
= 1 200 kg x m= 1200 kg
32 𝑚
= 600 N v = 4 m/s
r= 32 m
F=?
- Centrifugal force (from Latin word centrifugal means centre fleeing) is the apparent force
that draws a rotating body away from the centre of rotation. It is caused by the inertia of
the board as the body’s path is continually redirected.
- The centripetal force required to make an object perform circular motion increases in the
following cases:
1. If the mass of the object increases.
2. If the velocity of the object increases.
3. If the radius of the circle decreases.
The above points are evident when considering the equation for centripetal force.
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Centripetal acceleration
When a body executes uniform circular motion, though the speed is constant (uniform), its
direction of motion is continuously changing. The direction of motion of the body at a point P is
along the tangent drawn at P. when the body is at Q, it is along the tangent drawn at Q and so
on, as shown below.
Speed is a scalar quantity having only magnitude, whereas velocity is a vector quantity having
both magnitude and direction. For a body having uniform circular motion, the linear velocity
changes continuously since the direction changes. Change of velocity with time is the
acceleration and so during circular motion, the body is accelerating though the speed remains
uniform.
change in velocity v2 − v1
Acceleration = =
time taken t
From Newton’s second law,
F= ma
But centripetal force,
mv2
F=
r
Therefore the acceleration, a, of a body toward the centre is given by
v2
a=
r
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Where v2 − v1 = v (in magnitude) and r is the radius of circular path. This acceleration is
called centripetal acceleration and is different from the usual linear acceleration. Centripetal
acceleration acts towards the centre of the circle and is at 90⁰ to the tangent at each point of
motion.
Exercise
1. A 5 kg mas moves at uniform speed of 18 m/s in a circular path of radius 0.5 m.
calculate the centripetal force acting on the mass.
2. A car of mass 1 200 kg has to make a circular turn of radius 30 m. if it is moving with a
uniform speed of 10 m/s, calculate the centripetal force acting on the car.
