Uniform Circular Motion

Objectives
Recognize that an object moving in a circular path
experiences an acceleration even if that object is
moving with a constant speed.
Be able to relate the acceleration of the object to
its constant speed and radius of circular path.
Recognize that the acceleration of an object
moving in such a manner is always
directed toward the center of the
circular path.
By the end of this lesson, you should
Acceleration Revisited
Recall that acceleration is defined to be the time rate of change in
velocity of an object. This means that any time an object is
changing its velocity, it is accelerating. So, what are the distinct
ways that an object can change its velocity? We have seen that an
object that changes speed experiences acceleration, but is that the
only way?
Distinct Ways That A Vector Quantity Can
Be Changed
Recall that velocity is a vector quantity. A vector can
be changed by

(i) Changing the magnitude of the vector

(ii) Changing the direction of the vector

(iii) Changing both the magnitude and
direction of the vector
Distinct Ways That The Velocity of An
Object Can Be Changed
An object will therefore experience an acceleration if
(i) The speed of the object can change
while it travels in a straight line
(ii) The direction of travel of the object can
change while it travels at constant
speed
(iii) The object can change speed and
change direction at the same time
Uniform Circular Motion
We have examined situations (i) and (iii) in
some detail and will return to situation (iii) in
much more detail later in the term, but the
focus of this lesson is that of uniform circular
motion. An object moving with this type of
motion travels at constant speed along a
circular path.
Warning!
An object moving along a circular path is not traveling in a straight line. This
means that you cannot use the straight-line kinematics formulas developed
in previous lessons to describe the motion of such an object. Always
remember the limitations of the models we develop in order to avoid the
pitfalls that many a student before you has fallen into. You must use the
equations for circular motion which we are about to demonstrate/derive.
Uniform Circular Motion Analyzed
Consider an object
moving with a constant
speed in a circular path.
At time t
1
the object has a
velocity v
1
. At time t
2
the
object has a velocity v
2
.
These velocity vectors
have the same magnitude
since the speed is
constant.
v
1

v
2

Uniform Circular Motion Analyzed
The acceleration of the
object is given by:


Thus, the direction of the
acceleration is the same
as the direction of the
velocity change (v
2
-v
1
).

v
1

v
2

t t A

=
A
A
=
1 2
v v v
a

Uniform Circular Motion Analyzed

To get the direction of the
velocity change, we note
that v
2
- v
1
= v
2
+ (-v
1
),
where -v
1
is a vector that
is identical to v
1
but
points in the opposite
direction.

v
1

v
2

-v
1

Av
Uniform Circular Motion Analyzed
The acceleration of the
object points in the
direction of the velocity
change. Now comes the
placement of the
acceleration vector.
Where does it go? Well,
remember that the
expression we are using
gives the average
acceleration of the
object.
v
1

v
2

-v
1

Av
Uniform Circular Motion Analyzed
We want the direction of
the instantaneous
acceleration. We note
that if an object moves
with an acceleration that
is constant in magnitude,
the average and
instantaneous value are
the same only at the
midpoint of the time
interval.
v
1

v
2

-v
1

Av
Uniform Circular Motion Analyzed
Because this object is
moving at a constant
speed, the middle of the
time interval happens to
coincide to the middle of
the distance interval. We
move the velocity change
vector to the middle of
the distance interval and
re-labeling it as the
acceleration
vector.
v
1

v
2

-v
1

a
Uniform Circular Motion Analyzed
We note that the diagram
can be rotated about any
angle without changing
the relative orientation of
the vectors. As we rotate
the diagram, we note one
important feature: the
acceleration vector for
this object always points
toward the center of the
circular path!
Centripetal Acceleration
Such an acceleration that always points toward the
center of a circular path is called a center-seeking,
or centripetal, acceleration. It can be shown that
the magnitude of the centripetal acceleration of an
object traveling in a circular path of radius, r, at a
constant speed, v, is given by:
r
v
a
c
2
=
Centripetal Acceleration
Remember that this centripetal acceleration always points
toward the center of the circular path, or radially inward. This is
a unit vector that points in the radial (center seeking) direction,
then the centripetal acceleration can be written as:
r
v
a
2
=

Period
There is a special time of travel that is of interest when the
motion of an object repeats itself. This special time is called the
period of the motion and is the time required for the motion of
the object to complete itself one time. You can determine the
constant speed of an object traveling in a circular path in terms
of the time required for the object to complete one circular path.
Hence, circumference divided by time is the speed of the object.
Speed
If an object travels at constant speed, that constant speed
can be found by taking the distance traveled and dividing by
the associated time of travel. If the time that is used to
calculate the constant speed is the period, or time to
complete one circular path, then the correct distance to use
would be the circumference of the circular path.
Speed
r
v
T
r
v
v
t
=
=
2
travel of time
traveled distance
Example
What is the acceleration of a person standing
at the earths equator?
Try It On Your Own
Assume that the earth travels in a perfectly
circular orbit around the sun. Determine a
solution to the question of What is the
acceleration that the earth experiences as it
travels around the sun.
Try It On Your Own
Test tubes are put in a centrifuge and spin in a
circle of radius 20.0 cm. How long should it
take a test tube to complete one revolution if
you want the contents in the test tube to
experience a 25 g acceleration?
A Quick Summary
An object traveling in a circular path at constant
velocity does indeed experience an acceleration.
This acceleration is toward the center of the
circular path at all times. The velocity vector for
the object is always tangent to the circle.

NOTE: The expressions from straight line kinematics
cannot be applied to the motion of such an object.
Uniform Circular Motion And
Newtons Laws of Motion
Since Newton's 2
nd
law is about unbalanced
forces then you must have an unbalanced
force to cause a centripetal acceleration.
We will call this unbalance force a
CENTRIPETAL FORCE!
Another Objective: To understand what a Centripetal Force is
and why it is pointing toward the center of the circle.
Objectives
Solve problems involving Newtons Laws of
motion for objects moving with uniform
circular motion in a systematic way.
By the end of this part of the lesson,
you should be able to
Centripetal Force
The key to solving a problem
involving an object moving with
uniform circular motion is to
realize that the object is traveling
in a circular path and therefore
experiences a centripetal
acceleration. The net force acting
on the object must point toward
the center of the circular path.
WARNING!
Remember that in your Free Body Diagram you
include all of the forces acting on the object. For
every force on your FBD, you can point to an object
that exerts that force on the object. For example, a
normal force is exerted by a surface; a gravitational
force is exerted by the earth; tension is exerted by
a string; etc. You might be tempted to include a
centripetal force in the FBD. Dont do this! The
centripetal force is a combination of the forces
already included in your FBD.
An EggcitingExample
A crate of eggs sits in the middle of the flatbed of a truck
as the truck negotiates a curve in the road. The curve may
be regarded as an arc of a circle of radius 35 m. If the
coefficient of static friction between the crate and the
flatbed is 0.6, what is the maximum speed the truck can
have if the crate is not to slide during the maneuver?
Solution
Start by drawing a FBD of the crate of eggs:
+y
+x
N
f
w
In the y-direction, the crate doesnt move,
so v
y
= 0 m/s = constant, and a
y
= 0 m/s
2
.

mg w N
a m w N F
y y Net
= =
= =
,
Along the x-axis, there is only one force, so:
x x Net
a m f F = =
,
Now, since the object is moving in a
circular path at constant speed:
r
v
a a
c x
2
= =
Substituting what is known about the
frictional force and the acceleration:
g r v
r
v m
ma g m N f
x
=
= = = =
2
2
( )( )
s
m
v
s
m
m v
rg v
3 . 14
8 . 9 35 6 . 0
2
=
|
.
|

\
|
=
=
The truck can travel as fast as 14.3 m/s
around the curve without the crate of eggs
moving.
Try It On Your Own
A merry go round turns completely every 12 s.
If a 45 kg child sits on the horizontal floor of
the merry go round 3 m from the center, what
minimum coefficient of static friction is
necessary to keep the child from slipping?
Frames of Reference Video:
by Professors, Humes and Ivy.
http://archive.org/details/frames_of_reference
Engineering a Curve
An engineer needs to design a curved exit ramp
for a highway in such a way that the car will not
have to rely on friction to round the curve
without skidding. Suppose a typical car rounds
the curve with a speed of 30 mi/h (13.4 m/s)
and that the radius of the curve is 50 m. At
what angle should the curve be banked.
A drawing of the situation and the FBD
looks like:
u
u
w
N
r
N
y

N
x

w
+x
+y
The forces are broken into
components along the
standard axes so that
components of force will
point toward the center of
the circular path.
Now, write the components of the Normal
force in terms of the angle:
u
N
y

N
x

N
u =
u =
cos
sin
N N
N N
y
x
Since there is no motion of the car along
the y-axis, v
y
= 0 m/s = constant. This
means there is no component of
acceleration along this axis and:
g m w N
ma w N F
y
y y y Net
= =
= = = 0
,
Along the x-axis, the x-component of the
Normal force causes the centripetal
acceleration:
r
mv
ma ma N F
c x x x Net
2
,
= = = =
Substituting for the components of Normal
force in terms of the banking angle:
r
mv
N
2
sin = u
mg N = u cos
(1)
(2)
Dividing equation (1) by (2)
|
|
.
|

\
|
= u
= u
=
u
u

g r
v
g r
v
g m
r v m
N
N
2
1
2
2
tan
tan
cos
sin
Substituting numbers:
( )

= u
|
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
|
.
|

\
|
|
.
|

\
|
= u
1 . 20
8 . 9 50
4 . 13
tan
2
2
1
s
m
m
s
m
Try It On Your Own
An amusement park ride consists of a rotating circular
platform 8 m in diameter, from which seats are suspended
at the end of a 2.5 m long chain. When the ride rotates,
each chain holding a seat makes an angle of 28 with the
vertical. If a 45 kg child is sitting in a seat while the ride is
going, what is the tension in the chain for that seat?
Summary
Problems involving objects moving with
uniform circular motion are solved in the
same manner as any problem involving
Newtons Laws. The forces, or combinations
of all or parts of forces, cause a centripetal
acceleration. You should not include a
centripetal force in your FBD along with all of
the other forces; the centripetal force is
already there.