Uniform Circular Motion and

Gravitation
 Forces
Forces cause any change in the velocity of an object.
– Newton’s definition : A force is that which causes an
acceleration
• A force is either a push or a pull.

• It follows the rules of vector addition

Addition of forces

This principle is called the superposition of forces.

  
R  F1  F2

R is called the resultant force, or the net force
Example 1:

Find the net force acting on an object:

 62 N, 420 N of E
 Classes of Forces
Contact forces involve physical contact between two
objects

Field forces act through empty space

 Fundamental Field Forces
•Gravitational force
– Between objects
•Electromagnetic forces
– Between electric charges
•Nuclear force (Strong forces)
– Between subatomic particles
•Weak forces
– Arise in certain radioactive decay processes
 Events leading to Newton’s Laws
Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543)
- Heliocentric vs Geocentric model
- sun as the center and planets in orbit
• Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
• Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
- Orbits of the planets are not exact circles
 Newton’s Laws of Motion
• First Law – Inertia
– Every object continues in its state of rest, or of uniform
motion in a straight line, unless compelled to change that
state by forces acting on it.
– The body is in equilibrium
• Second Law – Acceleration
– The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the
force exerted on it and inversely to mass.

• Third Law – Action and Reaction

– For every action there is a reaction force and the action
and reaction forces are equal in magnitude, opposite in
direction, and act upon different bodies
Free Body Diagram
Example 2

Find the normal

force on the book.
 Forces of Friction
When an object is in motion on a surface or
through a viscous medium, there will be a
resistance to the motion.
– This is due to the interactions between the object
and its environment.
Types of Friction:
1. Static friction, fs
2. Kinetic friction, ƒk
3. Rolling friction, ƒr
Friction is proportional to the normal force.
ƒs  µ s n
ƒk= µk n
• μ is the coefficient of friction – depends on the
surfaces in contact
General Principles:
1. The coefficient of friction depends on the surfaces in
contact.
2. The force of static friction is generally greater than the
force of kinetic friction.
3. The direction of the frictional force is opposite the
direction of motion and parallel to the surfaces in
contact
4. The coefficients of friction are nearly independent of
the area of contact.
 Uniform Circular Motion
•Uniform circular motion occurs when an object moves
in a circular path with a constant speed.

•An acceleration exists since the direction of the motion

is changing .
– This change in velocity is related to an acceleration.
•The constant-magnitude velocity vector is always
tangent to the path of the object.
 Changing Velocity in Uniform Circular Motion
•The change in the velocity vector is due to the change in
direction.
•The direction of the change in velocity is toward the
center of the circle.
•The vector diagram shows vf  vi  v
 Centripetal Acceleration

v2
aC 
r

• The acceleration is always perpendicular to the path

of the motion.
• This acceleration is called the centripetal
acceleration, where r is the radius of the circular
path.
• The direction of the centripetal acceleration vector is
directed toward the center of the circle of motion.
Tangential (at) Acceleration

dv
at 
dt
 Total Acceleration
•The tangential acceleration, at causes the change in
the speed of the particle.
dv
at 
dt
•The radial acceleration, ar comes from a change in the
direction of the velocity, thus it is also the centripetal
acceleration. 𝑣2
𝑎𝑟 = 𝑎 𝑐 =
𝑟

•Total acceleration a  ar
2
 at
2
 Period and Frequency
•The period, T, is the time required for one
complete revolution.
2 r
T
v
Unit for T is seconds, s.
• The frequency, f, is the number of complete
revolution an object makes per unit time.
1
𝑓=
𝑇
• Unit for f is Hertz or Hz. (1 Hz = 1 s-1)
 Examples
1. Mr. Sylar rides a bicycle with constant speed
around a circular track 25 m in diameter.
What is the acceleration of the bicycle
toward the center of the track if the speed is
2
2.9 m/s
6.0 m/s?
2. An industrial grinding wheel with a 25.4-cm
diameter spins at a rate of 1910 revolutions
per minute. What is the linear speed of a
point on the rim? 25.4 m/s
 Dynamics of Circular Motion
• Uniform circular motion is governed by Newton’s
second law.
• The vector sum  F is a vector that is always
directed toward the center

• The acceleration is always constant, thus the

magnitude Fnet of the net inward radial force
must also be constant.
If the inward radial force suddenly ceases to act on a
body in a circular motion, the body flies off in a straight
line with constant velocity (as it must, since the net
force acting is zero).
 Centripetal Force
• The magnitude of the radial acceleration is
given by 𝑣2
𝑎𝑟 = 𝑎 𝑐 =
𝑟
• Thus the magnitude of Fnet on a particle with
mass m is
𝑚𝑣 2
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝐹𝑐 = 𝑚𝑎𝑐 =
𝑟
 Examples
1. Approximately how much force does the
earth exert on the moon? The distance of the
moon from the earth is 3.84 x 108 m and the
period of the moon’s orbit is 27.3 days.
 Examples
2. A sled with a mass of 25.0 kg rests on a horizontal
sheet of essentially frictionless ice. It is attached by a
5.00-m rope to a post set in the ice. Once given a
push, the sled revolves uniformly in a circle around
the post as shown in the figure. If the sled makes five
complete revolutions every minute, find the force F
exerted on it by the cord.
• How would F change if v remained the same
but the radius R were doubled?
 Unbanked curve
• The BMW Z4 roadster is rounding a flat, unbanked
curve with radius R. If the coefficient of friction
between tires and road is  , what is the maximum
speed vmaxat which the driver can take the curve
without sliding?
 Banked curve
• An engineer proposes to rebuild the curve in the
previous example so that a car moving at speed v
can safely make the turn even if there is no
friction. At what angle  should the curve be
banked?