CIRCULAR MOTION

Circular motion – is the movement of an object along a circular path. The special case of
circular motion is the rotational motion. In rotational motion, each particle of a body remains
at a fixed distance from the axis of rotation. Example of rotational motion are rotation of
flywheel of an engine, rotation of ship’s blade propeller, rotation of blades of an electric fan,
motion of armature of a motor vehicle along its circular path, motion of many satellites
including moon orbit the earth on nearly circular paths, and even rotation of the hand of a
clock..

Uniform Circular Motion

Uniform Circular Motion – is the motion of an object traveling at a constant speed on a

ω v

θ
r

The period (T) is the time required for the object to travel around the circle, that is, to make
one complete revolution (circumference of the circle = 2πr).

T = no. of time_
revolution

Period is considered a unit of time, and seconds (s) is the standard unit being used.

Period is related to frequency (f) in terms of circular motion, because frequency is the number
of cycles or revolutions per unit time or the reciprocal of period. Using this definition, its
formula is as follows:

f = no. of revolution or f= 1
time T

The unit used is: rps or hertz(hz) and rpm; other unit is: vib/s and os/s

Therefore, the linear speed/velocity in uniform circular motion can be computed using;

v = 2πr_
T
Other formula can be used when the angular displacement is considered on the object.
Angular displacement – is the ratio of the arc subtended by the angle to the radius. Since
angular velocity – is the time rate of change of angular displacement, its formula is;

ω = 2π_
T

Therefore, linear speed/velocity in terms of angular velocity can be;

v = ωr

Certain object whirled in a horizontal circle is moving at a constant speed but always
accompanied with changing direction, therefore, there is an acceleration. The direction of the
velocity is always tangent to the circular path.
An object moving in a circular path of radius (r) with constant speed (v) has an acceleration
called central/centripetal acceleration of magnitude;

ac = v2 or ac = ω2r (in terms of angular velocity)

Centripetal Force and Centrifugal Force

Centripetal Force – is the force perpendicular to the velocity of an object along a curved
path and which directed toward the center of the curvature of the path. This is also the reason
of a body to maintain follow the curve path. That there be no centripetal force, the object
would fly out because of the inertia of the object.

Fc
r

Fc
For the magnitude of centripetal force in terms of central acceleration, using F = ma, we use;

Fc = mac or Fc = mv2
r

And in terms of angular acceleration,

Fc = mω2r

Centrifugal Force – is equal to centripetal force but acts in the opposite direction. It is the
amount of force directed away from the center of rotation.
Example: A mass of 0.3 kg is whirled in a circle of radius 1.5 m. If it makes 4 revolutions in 4
seconds, calculate the following: (a) linear speed(ans. 9.42 m/s) (b) angular speed(ans. 6.28
rad/s) (c) central acceleration(ans. 59.22 m/s2) (d) central force(ans. 17.77 N).

Gravitational Force

Another cases of uniform type of circular motion is the movement of the satellites around the
planet and the planets going around the sun. The force that involved to maintain the right
track of the planet along the orbit is the gravitational force.

Gravitation

Though the path of the planets is not perfectly circular, planetary motion is a good example of
circular motion. The orbits of the planets are elliptical in shape. This was advocated by
Johannes Kepler in his First Law of Planetary Motion.
Because of the elliptical shape of each of the orbit of each planet, its radius vector is not the
same throughout. It is shortest at perigee and longest at apogee. There is the greatest speed at
the perigee position and slowest speed at its apogee. This is stated in Kepler’s Second Law of
Planetary Motion.

A C
Sun
Apogee Perigee

B D

Earth’s orbit

It was further explained by Isaac Newton that planets stay in their own orbit because of the
inward force that pulls the planet as it revolves around the sun. This force is called
gravitation. It is defined as the force of attraction between any two bodies in the universe.

m1 m2

Fgrav

r
Newton’s Law of Gravitation states that every bit of matter in the universe attracts every
other bit of matter. This force is directly proportional to the product of their masses and
inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers. In an equation:

Fgrav = Gm1m2_
r2

where: Fgrav – gravitational force

Example: What is the gravitational force between two masses, 3 kg and 2 kg if they are 1.5 m
apart? Ans. 1.78 x 10-10 N

Problem Set:
1. A mass of 0.5 kg is whirled at 15 revolutions in 5 s in a horizontal circle at the end of the
string 1.2 m long. Calculate the following: (a) angular velocity (b) linear velocity (c) central
acceleration (d) central force.
2. A 2,200 kg tug-boat is turning a curve of radius 150 m. If it is traveling 10 m/s, what is the
maximum force between the water surface and the boat?
3. A certain 150-g mass is whirled in a rope with a 400-cm radius. The roped was moved first
in a circular motion before throwing it down into the river at the rate of 2 m/s. What is the
central acceleration?
4. The propeller of the lifeboat spins at 300 revolutions per second. Determine the speed (in
m/s) at which the outer edge of the blade is moving, its radius is 0.20 m.
5. A flywheel of the engine turns at a rate of 600 rpm. (a) Find the speed (m/s) of the trip of
the blade if its distance from the center is 20 cm. (b) Find the angular speed in one of the
portion of the flywheel.
6. Calculate the centripetal acceleration (in m/s 2) of a car traveling on a circular race track of
radius 100 m at a speed of 180 km/hr.
7. Find the centripetal force needed by a 1200 kg car to make a turn of radius 40 m at a speed
of 25 km/hr.
8. What is the acceleration (in m/s2) is experience by a passenger making a level turn or radius
1.0 km at a speed of 400 km/hr?
9. What is the centripetal force needed to keep a 3.5 kg. Mass moving in a circle of radius of
0.57 cm at a speed of 8.25 m/s?
10. A mass of 0.2 kg is moving in a horizontal circle of 0.8 m radius with an angular velocity
of 5 rad/s. What is the required central force?
11. The force of gravitation between two equal masses is 2.5 x 10 -8 N. If they are 1.3 m apart,
then, what are their masses?
12. Two masses, 4 kg and 5 kg are bounded with a gravitational force of 3.2 x 10 -5 N, how far
are they from one another?