Dynamics of Uniform Circular
Motion
Chapter 8 (sections per syllabus)
Tetyana Antimirova
Chapter 8. Dynamics II: Motion in a Plane
Chapter Goal: To learn how to solve problems about
motion in a plane.
Chapter 8 Preview
Chapter 8 Preview
Chapter 8 Preview
Reading Question 8.4
For uniform circular motion, the net force
A. Points toward the center of the circle.
B. Points toward the outside of the circle.
C. Is tangent to the circle.
D. Is zero.
Suppose the x- and y-components of acceleration are
independent of each other.
That is, ax does not depend on y or vy, and ay does not
depend on x or vx .
Your problem-solving strategy is to:
1. Draw a pictorial representation: a motion diagram
(if needed) and a free-body diagram.
2. Use Newton’s second law in component form:
The force components (including proper signs) are found
from the free-body diagram
Dynamics in Two Dimensions
Dynamics in Two Dimensions
3. Solve for the acceleration. If the acceleration is constant,
use the two-dimensional kinematic equations of Chapter
4 to find velocities and positions:
Example 8.1 Rocketing in the Wind
Circular Motion
When describing circular
motion, it is convenient
to define a moving
rtz-coordinate system.
The origin moves along
with a certain particle
moving in a circular path.
The r-axis (radial) points from the particle toward the
center of the circle.
The t-axis (tangential) is tangent to the circle, pointing
in the ccw direction.
The z-axis is perpendicular to the plane of motion.
Circular Motion
A particle in uniform circular
motion with angular velocity ω
has velocity v = ωr, in the
tangential direction.
The acceleration of uniform
circular motion points to the
center of the circle.
The rtz-components of
and are:
CQ. The diagram shows three
points of a motion diagram.
The particle changes direction
with no change of speed. What
is the acceleration at point 2?
QuickCheck 8.2
A toy car moves around a circular track at constant
speed. It suddenly doubles its speed — a change of a
factor of 2. As a result, the centripetal acceleration
changes by a factor of
A. 1/4.
B. 1/2.
C. No change since the radius doesn’t change.
D. 2.
E. 4.
Example 8.2 The Ultracentrifuge
Centripetal Force
An object in uniform circular motion is not traveling at a
constant velocity in a straight line.
Consequently, the particle must have a net force acting
on it
Without such a force,
the object would move
off in a straight line
tangent to the circle.
The car would end
up in the ditch!
Highway and racetrack curves are banked to allow
the normal force of the road to provide the
centripetal acceleration of the turn.
Centripetal Acceleration and
Centripetal Force
The figure shows a particle
in uniform circular motion.
The net force must point in
the radial direction, toward
the center of the circle.
This centripetal force is not
a new force; it must be
provided by familiar forces.
QuickCheck 8.3
CQ. An ice hockey puck is tied by a string
to a stake in the ice. The puck is then
swung in a circle. What force or forces
does the puck feel?
A. A new force: the centripetal force.
B. A new force: the centrifugal force.
C. One or more of our familiar forces pushing outward.
D. One or more of our familiar forces pulling inward.
E. I have no clue.
QuickCheck 8.4
CQ. An ice hockey puck is tied by a
string to a stake in the ice. The puck
is then swung in a circle. What force
is producing the centripetal
acceleration of the puck?
A. Gravity
B. Air resistance
C. Friction
D. Normal force
E. Tension in the string
Example 8.4 Turning the Corner I
Example 8.4 Turning the Corner I
VISUALIZE
The second figure below shows the top view of a tire as it turns a
corner.
The force that prevents the tire from sliding across a surface is static
friction.
Static friction pushes sideways on the tire, perpendicular to the
velocity, since the car is not speeding up or slowing down.
The free-body diagram, drawn from behind the car, shows the static
friction pointing toward the center of the circle.
Example 8.4 Turning the Corner I
Example 8.4 Turning the Corner I
Example 8.4 Turning the Corner I
Car on a Banked Ramp
Banked Curves
Real highway curves are banked by being tilted up at the
outside edge of the curve.
The radial component of the normal force can provide
centripetal acceleration needed to turn the car.
For a curve of radius r banked at an angle , the exact
speed at which a car must take the curve without
assistance from friction is .
Car on a Banked Ramp
Banked Curves
Consider a car going around a banked curve at a speed
higher than .
In this case, static friction must prevent the car from
slipping up the hill.
Banked Curves
Consider a car going around a banked curve at a speed
slower than .
In this case, static friction must prevent the car from
slipping down the hill.
QuickCheck 8.5
CQ.A car turns a corner on a
banked road. Which of the
diagrams could be the car’s
free-body diagram?
Can a sling be completely horizontal?
A yes
B no
What force is a centripetal force here?
A rock in a sling (continued)
What is VERY wrong with this diagram?
• Can the rope be perfectly horizontal?
A rock in a sling
A rock in a sling
A rock in a sling
Circular Orbits
The figure shows a
perfectly smooth,
spherical, airless planet
with one tower of height h.
A projectile is launched
parallel to the ground with
speed v0 .
If v0 is very small, as in
trajectory A, it simply falls
to the ground along a
parabolic trajectory.
This is the “flat-earth approximation.”
Circular Orbits
As the initial speed v0 is
increased, the range of the
projectile increases as the
ground curves away from it.
Trajectories B and C are of
this type.
If v0 is sufficiently large,
there comes a point where
the trajectory and the curve
of the earth are parallel.
In this case, the projectile
“falls” but it never gets any closer to the ground!
This is trajectory D, called an orbit.
Circular Orbits
In the flat-earth approximation,
shown in figure (a), the
gravitational force on an object
of mass m is:
Since actual planets are
spherical, the real force
of gravity is toward the
center of the planet, as
shown in figure (b).
Circular Orbits
An object in a low circular
orbit has acceleration:
If the object moves in a circle
of radius r at speed vorbit the
centripetal acceleration is:
The required speed for a circular orbit near a planet’s
surface, neglecting air resistance, is:
Circular Orbits
The period of a low-earth-orbit
satellite is:
If r is approximately the radius
of the earth Re = 6400 km, then
T is about 90 minutes.
An orbiting spacecraft is constantly in free fall, falling
under the influence only of the gravitational force.
This is why astronauts feel weightless in space.
Gravity: Preview of Chapter 13
The circular-orbit equations of this chapter assume:
• The orbiting object is very small compared to the planet.
• The orbital radius is very close to the radius of the planet, so that ar = g.
When we study orbits of astronomical objects in Chapter
13, such as the moon, we
must take into account the
fact that the size of g
diminishes with increasing
distance from the planet.
It turns out that the moon,
just like the space shuttle,
is simply “falling” around Saturn’s beautiful rings consist of dust particles and
small rocks orbiting the planet.
the earth.
QuickCheck 8.6
CQ. A coin sits on a turntable as the table
steadily rotates ccw. The
free-body diagrams below show the coin from
behind, moving away from you. Which is the
correct diagram?
QuickCheck 8.8
CQ. Two coins are on a turntable
that steadily speeds up, starting
from rest, with a ccw rotation.
Which coin flies off the turntable
first?
A. Coin 1 flies off first.
B. Coin 2 flies off first.
C. Both coins fly off at the same time.
D. We can’t say without knowing their masses.
Gravity on a Rotating Earth
The figure shows an object being
weighed by a spring scale on the
earth’s equator.
The observer is hovering in an
inertial reference frame above
the north pole.
If we pretend the spring-scale
reading is Fsp = FG = mg, this has
the effect of “weakening” gravity.
The free-fall acceleration we measure
in our rotating reference frame is:
Applications
Why Does the Water Stay in the
Bucket?
Why Does the Water Stay in the
Bucket?
Amusement Park
Physics
A roller coaster doing a loop-
the-loop is a dramatic example
of circular motion. But why
doesn’t the car fall off the track
when it’s upside down at the
top of the loop? To answer this
question, we must study how
objects move in circles.
Chapter Goal: To learn
how to solve problems about
motion in a plane.
Amusement Park Physics
The figure shows a roller-
coaster going around a vertical
loop-the-loop of radius r.
Note this is not uniform circular
motion; the car slows down
going up one side, and speeds
up going down the other.
At the very top and very bottom points, only the car’s
direction is changing, so the acceleration is purely
centripetal.
Because the car is moving in a circle, there must be
a net force toward the center of the circle.
Loop-the-Loop
The figure shows the roller-coaster
free-body diagram at the bottom
of the loop.
Since the net force is toward the
center (upward at this point), n > FG .
This is why you “feel heavy” at the
bottom of the valley on a roller coaster.
The normal force at the bottom is larger than mg.
Loop-the-Loop
The figure shows the roller-coaster
free-body diagram at the top of
the loop.
The track can only push on the
wheels of the car, it cannot pull,
therefore presses downward.
The car is still moving in a circle, so the net force is also
downward:
The normal force at the at the top can exceed mg if vtop
is large enough.
Loop-the-Loop
At the top of the roller coaster,
the normal force of the track on
the car is:
As vtop decreases, there comes
a point when n reaches zero.
The speed at which n = 0 is called the critical speed:
This is the slowest speed at which the car can complete
the circle without falling off the track near the top.
What if the speed is less than
critical?
Happy flying!
Loop-the-Loop
A roller-coaster car at the top of the loop.
QuickCheck 8.9
CQ. 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?
QuickCheck 8.10
CQ. A car that’s out of gas coasts over
the top of a hill at a steady 20 m/s.
Assume air resistance is negligible.
Which free-body diagram describes the
car at this instant?
QuickCheck 8.11
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.
CQ.A car is rolling over the top of a hill at
speed v. At this instant,
1. n > w.
2. n = w.
3. n < w.
4. We can’t tell about n without knowing v.
CQ.A ball on a string is swung in a vertical circle. The
string happens to break when it is parallel to the ground
and the ball is moving up. Which trajectory does the ball
follow?
1) a
2) b
3) c
4) d
Projectile in absence of drag
In the absence of air
resistance, a projectile
moves under the influence
of only gravity.
If we choose a coordinate
system with a vertical
y-axis, then
Consequently, from Newton’s second law, the
acceleration is
Projectile (continued)
Consider a projectile with
Trajectories of a projectile launched at different
initial speed v0, and a angles with a speed of 99 m/s.
launch angle of above
the horizontal.
In Chapter 4 we found that
the distance it travels before
it returns to the same
elevation from which it was
launched (the range) is:
The maximum range occurs for 45.
All of these results neglect the effect of air resistance.
Projectile Motion in Presence of Drag
Force
For low-mass projectiles on
earth, the effects of air
resistance, or drag, are too
large to ignore.
When drag is included, the
angle for maximum range of a
projectile depends both on its
size and mass.
The optimum angle is roughly
35 for baseballs.
The flight of a golf ball is even more complex, because
of the dimples and effects of spin.
Professional golfers achieve their maximum range at
launch angles of barely 15!
Projectile Motion in Presence of Drag Force
Motion
The acceleration of a typical projectile subject to drag
force from the air is:
The components of
acceleration are not
independent of each other.
These equations can
only be solved numerically.
The figure shows the
numerical solution for
a 5-g plastic ball.
Problem-Solving Strategy: Circular-Motion Problems
Problem-Solving Strategy: Circular-Motion
Problems
QuickCheck 8.12
CQ. A ball rolls ccw around the inside of a
horizontal pipe. The ball is fastest at the
lowest point, slowest at the highest point. At
the point shown, with the ball moving down,
what is the direction of the net force on the
ball?
Chapter 8 Summary Slides
General Principles
General Principles
General Principles
General Principles
Important Concepts
Important Concepts
