Planning - Circular Motion
Background Knowledge:
Circular motion is the rotation along a circle. When an object is in circular motion, it needs centripetal force. Circular motion involves acceleration of the moving object by a centripetal force which pulls the object towards the centre of the circular orbit, without this acceleration the object would move in a straight line. Circular motion is accelerated even though the speed is constant, because the velocity of the moving object is constantly changing.
A special kind of circular motion is when an object rotates around its own centre of mass. This can be called spinning motion, or rotational motion.
Circular motion is characterized by four variables;
* an orbital radius,
* a velocity,
* the mass of the object which moves in a circle
* the magnitude of the centripetal force,
These quantities all relate to each other through the circular motion equation:
Equation of circular motion is
Figure 1 Fig1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_motion Figure 2 Fig2http://hyperphysics.phyasastr.gsu.edu/HBASE/cf.html
The centripetal force is directed towards the centre and is used in any motion in a curved path representing accelerated motion. The centripetal force is the force needed to move an object in a circle at constant speed.
* The smaller the mass, the bigger the centripetal force. The smaller the velocity of the object, the less centripetal force you will have to apply.
* The smaller the length of rope (radius), the more centripetal force you will have to apply to the rope.
* The centripetal force and the centripetal acceleration are always pointing in the same direction.
Aim: To investigate the factors which affect the speed of an object travelling in a circular path.
Prediction:
I predict that the smaller the mass, the smaller the centripetal force will be. The smaller the velocity of the object, the less centripetal force we will have to apply. If the plastic tube moves in a small circle, the greater the radius and therefore the less centripetal force we will have to apply to the rope. However if the plastic tube is moved in a large circle, the smaller the radius and so more centripetal force will have to be applied. As the centripetal force will increase, the velocity will increase. For this to happen, all these quantities will relate to each other through using only the circular motion equation,
Background Knowledge:
Circular motion is the rotation along a circle. When an object is in circular motion, it needs centripetal force. Circular motion involves acceleration of the moving object by a centripetal force which pulls the object towards the centre of the circular orbit, without this acceleration the object would move in a straight line. Circular motion is accelerated even though the speed is constant, because the velocity of the moving object is constantly changing.
A special kind of circular motion is when an object rotates around its own centre of mass. This can be called spinning motion, or rotational motion.
Circular motion is characterized by four variables;
* an orbital radius,
* a velocity,
* the mass of the object which moves in a circle
* the magnitude of the centripetal force,
These quantities all relate to each other through the circular motion equation:
Equation of circular motion is
Figure 1 Fig1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_motion Figure 2 Fig2http://hyperphysics.phyasastr.gsu.edu/HBASE/cf.html
The centripetal force is directed towards the centre and is used in any motion in a curved path representing accelerated motion. The centripetal force is the force needed to move an object in a circle at constant speed.
* The smaller the mass, the bigger the centripetal force. The smaller the velocity of the object, the less centripetal force you will have to apply.
* The smaller the length of rope (radius), the more centripetal force you will have to apply to the rope.
* The centripetal force and the centripetal acceleration are always pointing in the same direction.
Aim: To investigate the factors which affect the speed of an object travelling in a circular path.
Prediction:
I predict that the smaller the mass, the smaller the centripetal force will be. The smaller the velocity of the object, the less centripetal force we will have to apply. If the plastic tube moves in a small circle, the greater the radius and therefore the less centripetal force we will have to apply to the rope. However if the plastic tube is moved in a large circle, the smaller the radius and so more centripetal force will have to be applied. As the centripetal force will increase, the velocity will increase. For this to happen, all these quantities will relate to each other through using only the circular motion equation,
