CAMBRIDGE A LEVEL PHYSICS

MOTION IN A CIRCLE

LEARNING OUTCOMES
NUMBER i ii iii iv v LEARNING OUTCOME Understand the concept of circular motion Learn the kinematics of circular motion Comprehend circular motion dynamics What is centripetal acceleration? Understand the relationship between centripetal force and circular motion

CONCEPT OF CIRCULAR MOTION

An object undergoes circular motion when the object moves in a circular trajectory. The object will have a linear (tangential) velocity as well as an angular velocity. In this chapter, we will look at the dynamics and kinematics involved when a rigid body undergoes circular motion.

CONCEPT OF CIRCULAR MOTION

The diagram shows what is meant by the terms angular velocity, and tangential velocity for an object undergoing circular motion.

Image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Centripetal_force_dia gram.svg/220px-Centripetal_force_diagram.svg.png

C I R C U L A R M OT I O N K I N E M AT I C S
Object moves counter clockwise from A to B. Let us assume object has rotated radians w.r.t point O. Hence, its angular displacement is radians counter clockwise. Definition: 1 radian is the angle subtended at the centre of the circle by an arc equal in length to the radius of the circle

Image: http://theory.uwinnipeg.ca/mod_t ech/img66.gif

C I R C U L A R M OT I O N K I N E M AT I C S
The angular velocity, is the rate of change of angle made by the object rotating. ; units = radians sec-1

Image: http://theory.uwinnipeg.ca/mod_t ech/img66.gif

C I R C U L A R M OT I O N K I N E M AT I C S
How do we relate the tangential speed to the angular speed? Recall , differentiating both sides with respect to time we obtain
Note that the tangential speed depends on position w.r.t centre of circular orbit.

C I R C U L A R M OT I O N DY N A M I C S
When we deal with objects undergoing circular motion, all external forces will have to be resolved into: i. tangential forces, i.e. forces that are tangential to the circular path, or ii. radial forces, i.e. forces pointing towards or away from the centre of the circular path.

C I R C U L A R M OT I O N DY N A M I C S
Please note that the radial forces need not be directed towards the centre of the circular trajectory. The radial force (s) can also be directed away from the centre. The tangential force(s) can also be opposite to the direction indicated in the diagram
Image: http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~addavis/1350/10RotFix/Images/AngAcc2.gif

C I R C U L A R M OT I O N DY N A M I C S

Image: http://i.stack.imgur.com/2RWJU.gif

C E N T R I P E TA L A C C E L E R AT I O N
When an object undergoes circular motion, its tangential velocity will change because the direction of the tangential velocity vector changes at every instant. The magnitude of the tangential velocity may or may not change, depending on the resultant tangential force.

C E N T R I P E TA L A C C E L E R AT I O N

Image: http://www.sinequanonthebook.com/sitebuilder/images/Radial_vs_tangential_veloc ity_-_p116-601x328.jpg

C E N T R I P E TA L A C C E L E R AT I O N
Important points to note:

i.

ii.

iii.

The direction of the change of velocity, will always be towards the centre of the circular orbit. The direction of also gives us the direction of the centripetal acceleration, . The direction of also gives us the direction of the centripetal force, .

C E N T R I P E TA L A C C E L E R AT I O N
The magnitude of the centripetal acceleration can be expresses either in terms of the: a. the linear speed, ( in m s-1 )as where distance from centre of circular orbit (in m), or, b. the angular velocity, (in rad s-1) as Does ac depend on r? How and why?
,

C E N T R I P E TA L F O R C E
For an object to undergo circular motion, the resultant radial force must be directed towards the centre of the circle. This resultant radial force is known as the centripetal force. The resultant tangential force will tell us what is happening to the linear (tangential) speed of the object (whether it is speeding up or slowing down, or moving at a constant speed).

C E N T R I P E TA L F O R C E
We will only deal with cases where the tangential acceleration = 0, i.e. the objects speed is constant. This type of circular motion is known as uniform circular motion. For uniform circular motion, we can also calculate its speed, by using the equation where T = orbital period, in s.

C E N T R I P E TA L F O R C E
We can calculate the resultant radial force (the centripetal force) by using the equation(s)

For uniform circular motion we can also use

EXAMPLES
May/Jun 2008, Paper 4, question 1.

EXAMPLES
May/Jun 2008, Paper 4, question 1 (contd).

EXAMPLES
May/Jun 2008, Paper 4, question 1 (contd).

EXAMPLES
May/Jun 2008, Paper 4, question 1 (contd).

EXAMPLES
May/Jun 2008, Paper 4, question 1 (contd).

HOMEWORK
1. May/Jun 2010, Paper 41, question 1.