Uniform Circular Motion

[Jessica]

If you twirl a ball held by an unstretchable string, the ball moves in a circle (with your body as the center).

If you keep rotating the string at a constant rate, the velocity of the ball will have a constant magnitude (speed) but a variable direction (instantaneous tangent to the circular path). Acceleration is not zero.

[Jessica]

Centripetal accleration

[Jessica]

Centripetal Force
Magnitude: The centripetal force is the name given to the net force required to keep an object of mass m, moving at a speed v, on a circular path of radius r, and it has a magnitude of
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Direction: The centripetal force always points toward the center of the circle and continually changes direction as the object moves.