UNIT 3 - Circular motion Flashcards
What do we need to make anything travel in a circle?
A force
If something is travelling in a circle, what is it constantly doing?
Changing direction
If something is travelling in a circle and it’s constantly changing direction, what is happening to its velocity?
It is constantly changing
What is velocity
Speed in a given direction
Which way is the acceleration of an object travelling in a circle?
Towards the centre
What needs to be acting on the object for it to accelerate?
There must be a resultant force acting on the object
What Is the centripetal force?
The force that keeps something moving in a circle, it always acts toward the centre of the circle (as does the acceleration)
If the force disappeared when the object was travelling in a circle, what would happen?
The object would carry on at a tangent to its circular motion
Give 3 examples of centripetal force and the force that’s also acting upon it
swinging a lasso - tension force in the string Earth around the sun - gravity
Give 3 factors that affect the centripetal force?
The radius of the circle (as the radius decreases, the force increases)
The mass (as the mass increases, the force increases)
Speed (as speed increases, the force increases)
What force do we rely on to provide the centripetal force when going round a corner in a car?
Friction
Give 3 examples of circular motion?
The earth orbiting the sun, a car cornering and electrons orbiting the nucleus
IN AN EXAM: When asked what force is actually providing the centripetal force, from what 3 could it be?
- Tension
- Friction
- Gravity
