Activities

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.

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.

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