Circular Motion

Questions
Circular Motion
Core skills
Circular motion 1 - horizontal................................................. 2
Circular motion 2 - horizontal ................................................ 3
Circular motion 3 - vertical ..................................................... 4
Circular motion 3 - horizontal ................................................ 5
Circular motion 4 - horizontal ................................................ 7
Circular motion 5 - horizontal ................................................ 9
Circular motion 6 - vertical ................................................... 10
Circular motion 7 - advanced.................................................. 11
Circular motion 8 - advanced.................................................. 12

Basic exam questions

1. Rubber bunger practical (June 1996 AEB)…………………... 13
2. Mass on turntable (June 2007) ………………………………….. 14
3. Humpback bridge (June 2011) …………………………………… 16
4. Lead ball on string (June 2015) ………………………………….. 18

Challenging exam questions

1. Banking airplane………..................................................... 20
2. Toy car loop .……………………………………………………………… 20

Olympiad problems
1. Particle orbit……………..................................................... 21
2. .
Comprehension questions
1. The centrifuge…………..................................................... 22

Extended writing questions

1. Cornering cyclist ............................................................ 24
2. Space station ……………………………………………………………. 24

Answers…………..…………………............................................................. 25
Circular motion 1 - horizontal

1. Cotton is pulled from a reel at a rate of 1ms-1. If the radius of the reel is 2cm,
calculate its angular velocity in rads-1.

2. A mass rests on a horizontal turntable at a distance of 0.1m from the centre. If the
table rotates at 6revs.min-1 calculate the centripetal acceleration of the mass.

3. What is the centripetal force required to make a car of mass 1 tonne go round a
corner of radius 25m at a speed of 60 km.hr-1. Calculate the sideways force on a
passenger of mass 60kg.

4. In the spin cycle of a washing machine the tub rotates at 100 rpm (revs per min) and
has a radius of 20cm. Calculate the centripetal acceleration. How does this compare
with the acceleration due to gravity?

5. A centrifuge is required to produce an acceleration of 1000 x g. If the radius of the

centrifuge is 0.20m calculate the rate of rotation required in revs-1.

6. A mass is rotated in a vertical circle at a constant speed at the end of a string. If the
string has a length of 0.5m calculate the minimum speed of the mass for the string to
just remain taut throughout the motion.
Circular motion 2 - horizontal
1. A 2.0 kg mass swinging at the end of a 050 m string is traveling 3 0 ms-1. What is the
a. centripetal acceleration of the mass?

a. centripetal force on the mass?

. .
.
2. A person standing at the Earth's equator has what rotational speed? (R = 6.38 x 106 m)

3. A stopper tied to the end of a string is swung in a horizontal circle.

a. If .the mass of the stopper is 13.0 g, and the string is 93 0 cm, and the stopper .
revolves at a constant speed 10 times in 11.8 s, what . is the tension on the string?

.
.
b. what would happen to the tension on the string if the mass was doubled and all
other quantities stayed the same?

c. what would happen to the tension on the string if the period was doubled and all
other quantities stayed the same?

4. A 0 19 m cord passes through a hole in a table. The cord attaches a mass m = 2 8 kg

on the frictionless surface to a hanging mass M = 7.9 kg. Find the speed with which m
must move in circle in order for M to stay at rest.

5. A rock is whirled on the end of a string in a horizontal circle of radius R and period T. If
the radius is halved while keeping the period constant, what happens to the
centripetal acceleration of the rock?
Circular motion 2 (cont.) - vertical
6. A ball with a mass of 130 g is swung at the end of a string 93.0 cm in length. The ball is
whirled in a vertical circle at 4.00 revolutions per second.
a.What is the tension on the string at the bottom of the loop?

b. What is the tension on the string at the top of the loop?

. .
.

7. What is the minimum speed of a roller coaster at the top of a 39.0 m vertical loop if
the passengers are "weightless" at that point.

. .
.

.
.
Circular motion 3 – horizontal
I. Calculate the angular velocity of an object that makes: (a) 25 revs per second (b) 33.3 revs per second
(give your answers in radians per second)

2. An astronaut is trained in a centrifuge that has an arm of length 6 m. If the astronaut can withstand an
acceleration of 7 g:
(a) What is the maximum number of revs per second of the centrifuge

(b) what is the maximum linear velocity of the astronaut?

3. (a) Calculate the acceleration of a satellite orbiting the Earth al a distance of 42000 km from the its
centre with an orbit time of exactly 1 day (86400 s).

(b) What might such a satellite be used for?

4. Calculate the centripetal force in the following cases:

(a) a ball of mass 150 g is spun in a horizontal circle of radius 3 m at 5 ms-1

(b) the Earth (9 x 1024 kg) orbits the Sun once every year (3 x 107 s). Orbit radius 1.5 x 1011 m

(c) an electron (mass 9 x kg) orbits a nucleus in 1.6 x 10-16 s, orbit radius 10-10 m

5. The diagram shows an object initially moving in the direction AB.

Mark the diagram to show:

(a) the direction of the velocity A

(b) the direction of the force needed to make it move in a circle from the point D about a centre O.

(c) the direction or the centripetal force and the velocity at C.

.
Circular motion 3 (cont.) - horizontal
6. Which of the following correctly describe the motion of a satellite in circular orbit round the Earth:
(a) constant speed
(b) constant velocity
(c) constant acceleration
(d) constant accelerating force

7. A stone of mass 4 kg is tied to string and swung in a horizontal circle of radius 2 m with a speed of
4ms-1
(a) What is the force on the stone?

(b) How many revolutions does the stone make every second?

(c) In what direction will the stone move if the string is cut?

(d) What will the force become if the radius of the orbit is halved?

8. How can a stone on the end of a string be spun round at a constant speed and yet still experience
a force?

9. Describe carefully the effect on the passengers in a bus that comers quickly. Your answer should
include a plan view to show which way the passengers move.

10. Calculate the acceleration of a 3 kg mass travelling in a circle of radius 2 m at a constant speed
of 6 ms-1.
Circular motion 4 - horizontal
1 (a) A car of mass 800 kg is travelling at a constant speed of 10 ms-1 around a bend on a flat road.
The radius of the bend is 50 m. Calculate the central force acting on the car.

(b) The maximum frictional force between the tyres and the road is 0.4 times the weight of the car.
Calculate the maximum speed that the car can travel round the bend without skidding.

2. A mass of 0.20 kg is attached to one end of a string that breaks when the force applied is 40 N.
The mass is whirled round at a constant angular speed of 10 rad s-1. The length of string is
gradually increased.

(a) Calculate; (i) the frequency of rotation in revolutions per second

(ii) the period of rotation

(iii) the radius of the path when the string breaks.

3 (a) Explain why a particle is accelerating even when it is moving at a uniform speed in a circular
path.

(b) In a synchrotron, protons of mass 1.7 x 10-27 kg are accelerated to a high speed. They move in
a circular path that of constant radius of 400 m. They initially have a speed of 8.0 x 106 ms-1.
(i) Calculate the magnitude of the central acceleration of the proton.

(ii) Calculate the magnitude of the central force needed to produce the circular motion.

(iii) Sketch a graph showing how the magnitude of the central force would vary for proton
speeds in the range 0 to 20 x 106 ms-1.
Circular motion 4 - horizontal
4 (a) Figure 4.4 shows a body moving with uniform speed in a horizontal circle.

(i) Draw on the direction of the resultant force P acting on the body

Figure 4.4

(ii) Show in your diagram the path the body would follow if the force ceases to
exist when it is at the point shown. Label this path D.

(b) In a fairground ride called a rotor, a person of mass 60 kg stands against a

wall. as in Figure 4.5, and the wall is rotated. When it is spinning at a suitable
speed the floor is dropped so that the person is left stuck to the wall. Figure 4.6
shows the variation of frictional force F with normal reaction between the
person and the wall.

Calculate

(i) the normaI reaction when the frictional force is equal to the weight of a
person of mass 60 kg.

(ii) the minimum angular speed, in rad.s-1 at which such a person must be
rotated to remain in position when the floor is dropped.
Circular motion 5 - horizontal
1. A 10g mass rests on a turntable 0.15m from the centre . If the table turns at 2 rev/s
what is
a) the time for one revolution

b) the angular velocity ω

c) the linear velocity v

d) the centripetal acceleration

e) the centripetal force

2. The radius of the Earth is 6400 km. Calculate for a 70 kg person standing on the Earth’s
equator
a) their angular velocity

b) their linear velocity

c) Their centripetal acceleration in ms-2 and as a multiple of g

d) The centripetal force in newtons

3. The earth has a mass of 6 x 1024kg and it orbits the sun at a mean distance of 1.5 x 1011m.
a) What is the earths angular velocity about the sun?

b) What is the earth’s centripetal acceleration?

Circular motion 6 - vertical
1. A boy swings a mass on a string in a horizontal circle at 120 revolutions per minute. The
length of the string is 75cm and the mass is 50g.
a) Calculate the tension on the string

b) He now swings the mass in a vertical circle at the same rate.

i. Draw a diagram to show how the tension varies at the top and the bottom of the
swing

ii. Calculate the centripetal force

iii. Calculate the tension at the top and the bottom of the swing

2. An old humpback bridge has a radius of curvature of 20m. What is the maximum speed
at which a car can travel over this bridge if the car is not to leave the surface of the road?

3. An object of mass 0.80 kg is whirled around in a vertical circle of radius 0.70 m at the
end of a length of string. What are the maximum and minimum tensions in the string
when the object is completing 180 revolutions per minute?

4. Calculate the minimum speed that a bucket of water must have when swung in a
vertical circle of radius 1.2 m (if the water is not to fall out).
Circular motion 7 - advanced
1. A conical pendulum consists of a mass of 500g rotating on a string of length 70cm. The
string makes an angle of 20° to the vertical.
a. Draw a diagram showing the forces acting on the mass.

b. Resolve the tension on the string to obtain an expression for the vertical and
horizontal components.

c. Calculate the magnitude of each of these forces

d. Write down an equation for the centripetal force maintaining the circular motion and
use it to calculate the angular velocity of the pendulum.

2. Calculate the angle of banking required for a road surface on a corner of radius 60 m so
that cars can travel at 20 ms-1 without relying on frictional forces (no side thrust on the
tyres).

3. Calculate the angle of banking required for a road surface on a corner of radius 60 m so
that cars can travel at 40 ms-1 without relying on frictional forces (no side thrust on the
tyres).

4. Calculate how much higher the outer rail of a tram track must be raised above the inner
rail to eliminate side thrust between the rail and the flanges (rims) on the tram wheels if
the corner has radius of 160m and the tram is to travel at 10 ms-1. The rails are 1.40 m
apart.
Circular motion 8 - advanced
1. A mass of 30g is rotated in a horizontal circle so that the string makes an angle of 30° to
the vertical.
a) Draw a diagram showing the forces acting on the mass.

b) Find the tension in the string.

c) If the radius of the circle is 0.4m how many revolutions per second must it do?

2. A road has a banked corner of radius 66 m. The road surface is such that the maximum
frictional force the surface can provide is one-third of the normal contact force, and a
stationary 1000 kg car parked on the banking will only just remain at rest on the surface
(rather than slide down it).
a) Draw a diagram showing the forces acting on the stationary car and show the
horizontal and vertical components of any diagonal forces.

b) Calculate the angle of the banking using the horizontal components of the normal
contact force and the frictional force.

b) Calculate the maximum speed at which a car could go around the bend.
Basic exam question 1 - horizontal
Basic exam question 2 - horizontal
Basic exam question 3 - vertical
Basic exam question 4 - horizontal
Challenging exam question 1 - advanced

Challenging exam question 2 - vertical

Circular motion : Olympiad 1
The centrifuge
(adapted from Arizona State University, Dept of Chemistry notes)

One of the most common pieces of equipment used to separate materials in a biochemistry lab is
the centrifuge. A centrifuge is a device that spins liquid samples at high speeds and thus creates
a strong centripetal force, causing the denser materials to travel towards the bottom of the
centrifuge sample tube more rapidly than they would under the force of normal gravity.
Microcentrifuges spin sample tubes of 2 cm3 which can spin up to 13 000 rpm. Superspeed
centrifuges hold 30 cm3 sample tubes and spin at rates of up to 20 000 rpm. Centrifuges can
spin 60 cm3 sample tubes at rates of up to 70 000 rpm .

The theory behind centrifugation. The idea here is pretty straight forward and mechanical. If
you want the more dense materials to be separated from the less dense materials, you need a
force that differentiates between particles of different density. Think about a swimming pool
with a rock and a piece of styrofoam. The rock is denser than water and thus it sinks. The
styrofoam is less dense than water, and thus it floats. Density is of course mass per unit volume.
So, if you have a bag full of rocks and styrofoam and you want to separate one from the other,
just dump the mixture into some water under the influence of the Earth's gravity. The rocks will
displace the water because they have greater mass for a given volume and gravity will pull them
through the water. On the other hand, the water will displace the styrofoam because a certain
volume of water weighs more than the same volume of styrofoam. This is Archimedes’ principle.

However, there are many things that are much closer in density than rocks and styrofoam and it
is much harder to separate them just under the Earth's gravity. In addition, diffusion is always at
work as random motion smears out small differences due to density. To overcome this, or
sometimes just to make the separation process faster, it would be nice to come up with a way of
generating larger mass (density) dependent forces than are available from the Earth's gravity
alone. Another way to generate a mass dependent force is to spin something. As you know from
physics, a body in motion tends to continue in motion along a straight path unless some force is
exerted on it to change its path. Thus in order to force something to go in a circle, we must exert
force on it pulling it in towards the center. This is force is the normal contact force at the bottom
of the sample tube, acting towards the centre of rotation, i.e. centripetally, and so it is described
as a centripetal force. This force is equal to the mass of the object times the acceleration
required to keep it from flying outward along a straight line. Thus, things with larger mass (for a
given volume) will have a greater force exerted on them and they will move towards the outer
edge of the container more quickly than the things with a lower mass per volume.

Answer questions on the above text on the next page.

The centrifuge: questions
1. What is the maximum number of revolutions per minute for a biochemistry lab centrifuge?

2. What volume of sample can these largest centrifuges hold?

3. What physical property of the materials in a sample allows the centrifuge to separate the
materials from each other?

4. Describe Archimedes’ principle.

5. What physical process makes separation of two substances with similar densities difficult to
achieve under normal Earth gravity?

6. Calculation: If a sample tube is filled with water (r = 1000 kgm-3) and placed in a rotor that
has a diameter of 16 cm, find the normal contact force acting on the bottom of the sample
tube when the centrifuge is operating at its maximum angular speed.

Extended writing 1: cornering cyclist - advanced

Describe the conditions required for an object to move at constant speed in a circle.

Explain with the aid of a diagram why it is necessary for a cyclist to lean into a curve in order to
corner at speed?

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The centrifuge: questions
1. What is the maximum number of revolutions per minute for a biochemistry lab centrifuge?

2. What volume of sample can these largest centrifuges hold?

3. What physical property of the materials in a sample allows the centrifuge to separate the
materials from each other?

4. Describe Archimedes’ principle.

5. What physical process makes separation of two substances with similar densities difficult to
achieve under normal Earth gravity?

6. Calculation: If a sample tube is filled with water (r = 1000 kgm-3) and placed in a rotor that
has a diameter of 16 cm, find the normal contact force acting on the bottom of the sample
tube when the centrifuge is operating at its maximum angular speed.

Extended writing 1: cornering cyclist - advanced

Describe the conditions required for an object to move at constant speed in a circle.

Explain with the aid of a diagram why it is necessary for a cyclist to lean into a curve in order to
corner at speed?

Extended writing 2: space station - horizontal

In 1903 the Russian rocket pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky proposed that artificial gravity could be
created in space but building a wheel-shaped craft that rotated.

Explain by reference to Newton’s law of motion how Tsiolkovsky’s idea would work.
 Circular motion - Answers

Circular motion 1
1. 50rads-1 2. 3.9 x 10-2ms-1
3. 1.11 x 104N, 6.62 x 102N 4. 2.2 x 103ms-2, 220 x g
5. 35rev per second 6. 2.34ms-1

Circular motion 2
1.a) 18 ms-1 b) 36 N 2. 464 ms-1 3. a) 0.343 N b) doubled c) quartered
4. 2.29 ms-1 5. halved 6. a) 3.62 N b) 1.06 N 7. 13.8 ms-1

Circular motion 3

Circular motion 4
1.a) 1600 N b) 14 ms-1 2. (a) (i) 1.6 rev s-1 (ii) 0.63 s (iii) 2.0 m (b)
3. (a) Show direction tangential to the circular path

(b) (i) 1.6 x 1011 ms-2 (ii) 2.7 x 10-16 N (iii) quadratic curve, 𝐹 ∝ 𝑣 &
4 (a) (i) Show force P acting towards centre of the circle
(ii) Show direction D tangential to the circle

(b) (i) 1100 N (ii) 2.7 rad s-1

Circular motion 5
1.a) 0.50 s b) 12.6 rad.s-1 c) 1.88 ms-1 d) 24 ms-2 e) 0.24 N
2..a) 7.3 x 10-5 rad.s-1 b) 465 ms-1 c) 3.45 x 10-3 g d) 2.4 N
3..a) 1.99 x 10-7 rad.s-1 b) 5.95 x 10-3 ms-2
Circular motion 6
1.a) 5.92 N
b) i) 5.92 N ii) bottom: 6.41 N top: 5.43 N
2. 14 ms-1 3. max T = 18.41 N. Min T = 2.71 N 4. 3.43 ms-1

Circular motion 7
1.a).see notes b) vertical = Tcosq = mg horizontal = Tsinq

* +,- .
c) Vertical = 4.91 N; Horizontal = mg tan q = 1.79 N d) 𝜔 = /
= 2.26 𝑟𝑎𝑑. 𝑠 01

2. 34o to horizontal 3. 70o to horizontal 4. 0.089 m

Circular motion 8
1.a).see notes b) vertical = T = mg/cosq = 0.34 N

* +,- .
c) 𝜔 = = 3.76 𝑟𝑎𝑑. 𝑠 01 = 0.60 rev.s-1 (36 rpm)
/

2.a) see notes b) tan q = 1/3 q = 18o c) 22 ms-1

Basic exam question 1

Basic exam question 2 - horizontal

Basic exam question 3 - vertical

Basic exam question 4 - horizontal
Circular motion : Challenge 1
(a) Lift, Weight in opposition vertically, thrust, drag in opposition horizontally [1] ; equal length arrows
horizontally, equal length arrows vertically [1] L=W and T=D [1]
(b) (i) horizontal component [1] of lift [1]
45!
(ii) Lcosq = mg [1] ; attempt to equal Lsinq with Fc [1] ; formula 𝑚𝑔𝑡𝑎𝑛𝜃 = [1] ;
/
5!
rearrange to tan𝜃 = [1]; sub to find q = 15.20 = 15° [1]
*/

Circular motion : Challenge 2

45!
(a) State 𝐹 = / [1] acts towards centre of rotation [1]
(b) (i) XY: PE to KE, YP: KE to PE (partial), PY (all) PE to KE [1] YZ no transfer (all KE) [1]
(ii) weight = centripetal force; formula 𝑣 = 𝑟𝑔 stated or used [1] sub to find 1.566 = 1.6 ms-1 [1, unit
required for mark]
5!
(iii) Conversation of energy stated or used, mgh = ½mv2 , formula ℎ = stated or used [1], 0.125 = 0.13 m
&*
[1, unit required for mark]

Circular motion Olympiad 1 Comprehension: The centrifuge

1. 70 000 rpm [1]

2. 60 cm3 [1]

3. Density [1]

4. Objects of higher density than the

fluid will (displace the fluid and)
sink [1].

Objects of lower density than the

fluid will (be displaced by the
fluid and) float [1].

5. Diffusion [1]

6. 2.6 x 105 N

Extended writing 1: cornering cyclist

Diagram showing weight, normal contact
acting along cyclist’s centre line. Vertical
normal in equilibrium with weight,
horizontal normal is centripetal force.

Extended writing 2: space station

Newton 1 requires a force to act on
astronauts to move in a circle. Centripetal
force comes from normal contact force
with floor. This is equivalent to the normal
contact force that balances weight on
Earth. An object released inside the
station would move in a straight line from
point of release. Observed to fall towards
the floor as the object’s straight-line
motion intercepts the circular path of the
floor’s rotating motion.