Physics 1BB3 Fall 2011

Circular Motion
1
Mechanics:
Circular Motion
Reading: Knights textbook (1st edition): Chapter 7.1-5
Knights textbook (2nd edition): Chapter 4.5-6 & 8.2-6
Recommended: Knights textbook (1st edition): Exercises: 1,2,3,5,11; Problems:
28,31,38.
Knights textbook (2nd edition): Exercises: 4.20,21,23,28; 8.6 ; Problems: 4.61;
8.28,34.
Important concepts:
Angular velocity
Uniform circular motion
Centripetal acceleration
Centrifugal force
Physics 1BB3 Fall 2011
Circular Motion
2
Position and circular motion


r
A motion along the circle is characterized by a change in
angular position, , and an arc length s=R .

r =
x
y

R
The position of an object with circular
motion is characterized by the radius of the
trajectory, R, and the angular position of the
object, .

From these, the coordinates of the object
can be easily calculated.
x=Rcos
y=Rsin

Physics 1BB3 Fall 2011
Circular Motion
3
Circular trajectories: Exercise


An object moves along a R=10 cm circle and changes
its angular position by /2. Calculate its total
displacement and total distance traveled.
Answer: Displacement: 14 cm; Distance traveled:
16 cm.
Physics 1BB3 Fall 2011
Circular Motion
4
Velocity & circular motion

The angular velocity, is defined as the
change in angular position with respect to
time: (t)=d/dt.
It is expressed in rad/s.

* The speed of the object along the
circular trajectory is v(t)=R(t).
* The velocity is tangent to the circle.

Proof: cos((t)) -sin((t))
sin((t)) cos((t))
|v|=R and v perpendicular to r
v = dr/dt =R

r = R
r
x
y
(t)
v
Physics 1BB3 Fall 2011
Circular Motion
5
Circular trajectories: Question


What kind of circular motions does either of these
graphs represent?
How can one find the angular velocity from the graph?

t
t
1.
2.
1: Uniform circular motion. The
slope of the graph is equal to
the angular velocity, and
remains constant.
2: Accelerated circular motion.
The slope of the graph is equal
to the angular velocity, and
inceases with time.
Physics 1BB3 Fall 2011
Circular Motion
6
Uniform circular motion:

The angular velocity, , and speed, v, are constant.
The angular position, , changes linearly with time: (t)= t.
The period of the motion is T=2/ and its frequency f=1/T= /2

The acceleration is centripetal and its magnitude is
a=v
2
/R=R
2
.
centripetal=center-seeking

r
1

x
v
2
r
2

a
Proof:




-v
1

v
2

a
-sin( t))
cos( t))
-cos( t))
-sin( t))
|a|=R
2
=v
2
/R and a//r
v = R
a = R
2

Physics 1BB3 Fall 2011
Circular Motion
7
Uniform linear motion Uniform circular motion
x(t) = v t (t) = t
v is constant is constant
v is constant
v is not constant
a = 0 a
parallel
= 0
a
perpendicular
= v
2
/R = R
2

Physics 1BB3 Fall 2011
Circular Motion
8
Uniformly accelerated circular motion:

The angular acceleration, , is defined as the change in angular
velocity with respect to time: (t)=d/dt=d
2
/dt
2
.
In that case, in addition to a radial component (a
R
=v
2
/R=R
2
,
centripetal acceleration), the acceleration also has a tangential
component (a
T
=R).
If is constant then the motion is said to be uniformly
accelerated.
For a uniformly accelerated motion:
(t) =
0
+(t-t
0
)
(t) =
0
+
0
(t-t
0
) +(1/2) (t-t
0
)
2

(t)
2
=
0
2
+2( -
0
)

x
v
2

a
v
1

a
R a
T