CircMotionActivity

From The Physics Classroom’s Physics Interactives http://www.physicsclassroom.
com
Uniform Circular Motion
Purpose:
The purpose of this activity is to explore the characteristics of the motion of an object in a circle
at a constant speed.
Procedure and Questions:

1. Navigate to the Uniform Circular Motion Interactive in the Physics Interactives section of
The Physics Classroom website. Experiment with the on-screen buttons in order to gain
familiarity with the control of the animation. The object speed, radius of the circle, and
object mass can be varied using the sliders or the buttons. The vector nature of velocity
and acceleration can be displayed on the screen. A trace of the object's motion is shown.
The acceleration of and the net force values are displayed in the animation window. The
animation can be started, paused, continued or rewound.
After gaining familiarity with the program, use it to answer the following questions.
2. Velocity is a vector quantity which has both magnitude and direction. Using complete
sentences, describe the object's velocity. Comment on both the magnitude and the
direction.
The object initially has a rectilinear direction, but because there is a force constantly pulling it
center-wise, it is constantly changing (forming a circle). The magnitude of the velocity, or the
tangential velocity (in the case of the simulation) is constant, as it travels a same distance over
the exact time period.
3. TRUE or FALSE?
If an object moves in a circle at a constant speed, its velocity vector will
be constant.
Explain your answer.
No, because, as mentioned earlier, velocity is both magnitude and direction, so even though it
has constant speed (a constant magnitude), its direction is constantky changing when on
circular motion, so it is accelerated.
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From The Physics Classroom’s Physics Interactives http://www.physicsclassroom.com
4. In the diagram at the right, a variety of positions

about a circle are shown. Draw the velocity vector
at the various positions; direct the v arrows in the
proper direction and label them as v. Draw the
acceleration vector at the various positions; direct
the a arrows in the proper direction and label them
as a.
5. Describe the relationship between the direction of the velocity vector and the direction of
the acceleration for a body moving in a circle at constant speed.
They are perpendicular to each other, that is, they form a 90° degree angle; the velocity is
directly straight, but the acceleration pulls it to the center.
6. A Puzzling Question to Think About: If an object is in uniform circular motion, then it is

accelerating towards the center of the circle; yet the object never gets any closer to the
center of the circle. It maintains a circular path at a constant radius from the circle's center.
Suggest a reason as to how this can be. How can an object accelerate towards the center
without ever getting any closer to the center?
An object in circular motion forms a circle because it is constantly changing direction, for this to
happen, there must be a force (centripetal force) directed to the center, that keeps the object in
a circular path; however, this centripetal acceleration refers to a constant redirection of the
object, not a reduction of the radius.
7. A Thought Experiment: Suppose that an object is

moving in a clockwise circle (or at least trying to move
in a circle).
• Suppose that at point A the object traveled in a
straight line at constant speed towards B'. In what
direction must a force be applied to force the
object back towards B? Draw an arrow on the
diagram in the direction of the required force.
• Repeat the above procedure for an object moving
from C to D'. In what direction must a force be applied in order for the object to move
back to point D along the path of the circle? Draw an arrow on the diagram.
• If the acceleration of the body is towards the center, what is the direction of the
unbalanced force? Using a complete sentence, describe the direction of the net force
that causes the body to travel in a circle at constant speed.
The direction of the net force, being that velocity and acceleration are perpendicular, would
result in an angle of 45°, as it bisects the 90° that forms.
8. Thinking Mathematically: Explore the quantitative dependencies of the acceleration upon

the speed and the radius of curvature. Then answer the following questions.
a. For the same speed, the acceleration of the object varies __indirectly__ (directly,
inversely) with the radius of curvature.
b. For the same radius of curvature, the acceleration of the object varies _directly_
(directly, inversely) with the speed of the object.
c. As the speed of an object is doubled, the acceleration is __four times__ (one-fourth,

one-half, two times, four times) the original value.
d. As the speed of an object is tripled, the acceleration is _nine times_ (onethird, one-
ninth, three times, nine times) the original value.
e. As the radius of the circle is doubled, the acceleration is x__one fourth__ (one-fourth,
one-half, two times, four times) the original value.
f. As the radius of the circle is tripled, the acceleration is __one ninth__ (onethird, one-
ninth, three times, nine times) the original value.
Conclusion:
This activity help us to know more about all the characteristics of an object moving in uniform
circular motion. The observation is that when the object is maintaining a constant speed, the
velocity it’s not constant, meaning that velocity is a vector that includes magnitude that in this
case its speed and direction. In this case we can noticed that while magnitude the remains equal
the direction of the vector remains changing as the thing follows the circular path.
The acceleration that is also called the centripetal acceleration always acts into the circle, and is
perpendicular to velocity. This force, called the centripetal force keeps it moving circularly. The
acceleration depends directly on the object’s speed and inversely on the radius of the circle. As
speed increases the acceleration increases too, while increasing the radius decreases the
acceleration. Despite this acceleration, the object remains at a constant distance from the
center.

CircMotionActivity

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CircMotionActivity

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From The Physics Classroom’s Physics Interactives http://www.physicsclassroom.

Uniform Circular Motion

Procedure and Questions:

4. In the diagram at the right, a variety of positions

6. A Puzzling Question to Think About: If an object is in uniform circular motion, then it is

7. A Thought Experiment: Suppose that an object is

8. Thinking Mathematically: Explore the quantitative dependencies of the acceleration upon

c. As the speed of an object is doubled, the acceleration is four times (one-fourth,

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