Circular Motion (Tangential Velocity)

Question 1

Recall the marble in the pie tin game where you had to hit the can… What was the shape of the marble’s path when INSIDE the tin? What was the shape of the marble’s path as soon as it left the tin?

Answer 1

• The shape inside the tin was circular.
• The shape-outside was like a pac-man.

Question 2

What do we mean by the term tangential velocity? How does it involve the radius of the circle?

Answer 2

• Tangential velocity is the speed of any object in a circular path.
• Involves the radius of the circle as the tangential velocity is proportional to the radius

Question 3

Why does Newton’s 1st law help us understand why the marble follows a tangent path after leaving the tin?

Answer 3

after the marble leaves the tin, it goes in a straight line and continues to do so if the walls weren’t there to exert a force on it

Question 4

At any moment in the moon’s orbit… what path does the moon “want” to follow?

Answer 4

The moon wants to follow the sun’s path.