Instructor:

Engr. Neil G. Cabatos

A body that moves in a circular path at a
velocity whose magnitude is constant is said to
undergo uniform circular motion.
Although the velocity of a body in uniform
circular motion is constant in magnitude, its
discussion changes continually. The body is
therefore accelerated. The direction of this
centripetal acceleration is toward the center of
the circle in which the body moves, and its
magnitude is ac = v2 / r.
Problems Set A:

1. A ball is whirled at the end of the string in a

horizontal circle 60 cm in radius at the rate
of 1 revolution (rev) every 2 s. Find the
ball’s centripetal acceleration.
2. A 1000-kg car rounds a turn of radius 30 m
at a velocity of 9 m/s. (a) How much
centripetal force is required? (b) Where does
this force come from?
3. How much centripetal force is needed to
keep a 160-lb skater moving in a circle 20
ft in radius at a velocity of 10 ft/s?
When a body moves in a vertical circle at the
end of a string, the tension T in the string
varies with the body’s position.
The centripetal force Fc on the body at any
point is the vector sum of T and the
component of the body’s weight w toward the
center of the circle.
At the top of the circle, the weight w and the
tension T both act toward the center of the
circle, and so: T = Fc – w.
At the bottom of the circle, w acts away from
the center of the circle, and so: T = Fc + w.
Problems Set A:
1. A string 0.5 m long is used to whirl a 1-kg
stone in a vertical circle at a uniform
velocity of 5 m/s. What is the tension in the
string (a) when the stone is at the top of the
circle and (b) when the stone is at the
bottom of the circle?
2. An airplane pulls out of a dive in a circular
arc whose radius is 1200m. The airplane’s
velocity is a constant 200 m/s. Find the
force with which the 80-kg pilot presses
down on his seat at the bottom of the arc.
Solution:
1. (a) The centripetal force needed to keep the
stone moving at 5 m/s is
Fc = mv2/r = 1kg(5 m/s)2/0.5m = 50 N
The weight of the stone is
w = mg = 1kg(9.8 m/s2) = 9.8 N
At the top of the circle,
T = Fc – w = 50N – 9.8N = 40.2 N

(b) At the bottom of the circle,

T = Fc + w = 59.8 N
2. The downward force F of the pilot exerts on
his seat is the equal and the opposite
reaction to the upward force of the seat on
him. This upward force both supports his
weight w and provides the centripetal force Fc
that keeps him in a circular path. The upward
force of the seat on the pilot plays the same
role here as the tension in the string does in
the motion of a body moving in a vertical
circle when the body is at the bottom of its
path.
Hence,
F = Fc + w = mv2/r + mg
= 80kg(200m/s)2/1200m + 80kg(9.8m/s2)
= (2667 + 784)N
F = 3451 N

The pilot presses down on his seat with a force

of 3451 N, which is 4.4 times his weight.
According to Newton’s law of Universal Gravitation,
every body in the universe attracts every other
body with a force that is directly proportional to
each of their masses and inversely proportional
to the square of the distance between them.
Gravitational Force (F) = G (m1m2)/r2
where m1 and m2 are the masses of any two
bodies, r is the distance between them, and G is
a constant whose values in SI and British units
are, respectively.
SI units : G = 6.67 x 10-11 N.m2/kg2
British units : G = 3.44 x10-8 lb.ft2/slug2
A spherical body behaves gravitationally as though
its entire mass were concentrated at its center.
Sample Problems:

1. What gravitational force does a 1000-kg

lead sphere exert on an identical sphere 3
m away?
2. What is the gravitational attraction between
an 80 kg man and a 50 kg woman who are
2 m apart?
3. What is the gravitational attraction between
two 3200 lb elephants when they are 20 ft
apart?
Solution:

1.) F = Gm1m2/r2
= (6.67 x 10-11N.m2/kg2)(103kg)(103kg)/(3m)2
F = 7.4 x 10-4 N

This is less than the force that would result

from blowing gently on one of the spheres.
Gravitational forces are usually significant only
when at least one of the bodies has a very large
mass.
2.) F = Gm1m2/r2
= (6.67 x 10-11N.m2/kg2)(80kg)(50kg)/(2m)2
F = 6.67 x 10-8 N

3.) F = Gm1m2/r2
= (3.44 x 10-8 lb.ft2/slug2)[3200/32slug]2/(20ft)2
F = 8.6 x 10-7 lb
Gravitation provides the centripetal forces that
keep the planets in their orbits around the
sun and the moon in its orbit around the
earth.

The same is true for artificial satellites put into

orbit around the earth.
Problems:

1. Find the velocity an artificial satellite must

have to pursue a circular orbit around the
earth just above the surface.
2. A satellite in a geostationary orbit circles
the earth above the equator with a period of
exactly 1 day, so it stays above a particular
place all the time. Most of the satellites in
such orbits act as relays for telephone calls
and television programs. Find the altitude
of a geostationary orbit.
Solution:

1.) In a stable orbit, the gravitational force mg

on the satellite must be equal to the
centripetal force mv2/r required. Hence

mv2/r = mg
v2 = rg
v = √(rg)

The mass of the satellite is irrelevant.

To find v, we use the radius of the earth re for r
and the acceleration of gravity at the earth’s
surface for g.

V = √(reg) = √(6.4 x 106 m)(9.8 m/s2)

V = 7.9 x 103 m/s

Which is about 1800 mi/h. With a smaller

velocity than this, a space vehicle projected
horizontally above the earth will fall to the
surface; with a large velocity, it will have an
elliptical rather than a circular orbit.
2.) A satellite that moves in a circular orbit of
radius r covers a distance 2 r in period T.
Hence its velocity is v = 2 r/T. From the
solution to prob.#1, another formula for the
satellite speed is v = √rg. Setting these
formulas equal allows us to estimate v:
2 r/T = √rg
To compute for acceleration of gravity of an
object at a certain height above the earth
surface …
g = [re/r]2go
where: g is in m/s2
re = earth’s radius (6400 km)
r = object’s height + earth’s radius
go = 9.8 m/s2
So, 2 r/T = √[(re2/r ) go]

Squaring both sides, 4 2r2/T2 = (re2/r ) go]

Solving for r, r = [re2goT2/4 2 ]1/3

Since here T = 1 day = (24h)(60mins/h)(60s/min)

= 8.64 x 104 s
r = [(6.4x106m)2(9.8m/s2)(8.64x104s)2/4 2]1/3
r =4.23x107m
The corresponding altitude above the earth’s
surface is
h = r – re = (4.23 – 0.64)x107m = 3.59x107m
h = 35,900 km