Education Technology


Uniform Circular Motion

Activity Overview

Students explore uniform circular motion and solve problems that deal with kinematics and dynamics of this motion.

Key Steps

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    Students investigate uniform circular motion. They determine the relationship between the radius of a circular path, the velocity of the

    object moving along the path, and the object's angular acceleration.

     

    First, students examine an animation of an object moving in a circular path. Vectors show the object's velocity and acceleration at each point on the path.

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    Students vary the radius of the circle while keeping the velocity constant. The data are graphed, and students use the graph to infer the relationship between acceleration and radius.

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    Finally, students use this equation to solve several problems involving uniform circular motion.