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Exploration Guide: Uniform Circular Motion

Names: ______________________________ ______________________________ Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory use their knowledge of circular motion when they launch spacecrafts. By timing the launch to take advantage of the circular motion of Earth rotating on its axis, scientists can control the speed with which the craft will travel around the Sun. If the spacecraft travels around the Sun at a slightly higher speed than Earth does, the radius of its orbit will slowly increase, and it will move outward through the Solar System. This way, the craft could intersect with the orbits of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto. If the spacecraft travels around the Sun at a slightly lower speed than the Earth does, the radius of its orbit will slowly decrease, and it will move inward toward the Sun. This could bring the probe near the inner planets, Venus and Mercury.

Acceleration of an Object in Uniform Circular Motion


In this activity, you will explore the acceleration of an object that travels a circular path at constant speed. Motion of this kind is called uniform circular motion. A. The Gizmotm shows both a top view and a side view of a puck constrained by a string, traveling a circular path on an air table. Be sure the Gizmo has these settings: radius 8 m, mass 5 kg, and velocity 8 m/s. Then click Play and observe the motion of the puck. 1. The puck in the Gizmo is traveling at a constant speed, but it is NOT traveling at a constant velocity. Explain why. ______________________________________________________________ _ (Hint: Velocity is a vector quantity that includes both a magnitude and a direction.) 2. Because the velocity of the puck is changing (because its direction is changing), the puck must be experiencing an acceleration. Click BAR CHART and choose Acceleration from the dropdown menu. Check Show numerical values. The leftmost bar shows the magnitude of the acceleration, or |a|. (The other two bars show the x- and y-components of the acceleration, ax and ay.) What is the value of |a|?

Jot this value down, along with radius = 8 m, in the table below. 3. Keeping velocity set to 8 m/s, set radius to 4 m. (To quickly set a slider to a value, typing the number in the field to the right of the slider and press Enter.) What is the new magnitude of the acceleration, |a|?Jot down this new value along, with radius = 4 m, with your previous data, in the table below 4. Now set the radius to 2 m. What is the resulting value for |a|? 5. Record these values along with the others, in the table below. Radius 8m 4m 2m Acceleration

6. Examine the corresponding pairs of values for the radius and the magnitude of the acceleration, |a|. How does |a| change when the radius is divided by 2? ______________________________________________________________ _ 7. How do you think |a| changes when the radius is multiplied by 2? ______________________________________________________________ _ 8. Multiplied by 3? ______________________________________________________________ _ 9. Choose your own values for the radius to test your answers in the Gizmo. What were your results? ______________________________________________________________ _ 10. You should have found that, in general, when the radius is multiplied by a number, |a|is divided by that same number. Also, when the radius is divided by a number, |a| is multiplied by the same number. One way to say this is, the magnitude of acceleration is inversely proportional to the radius.

B. Click Reset ( ). Set radius to 8 m, mass to 5 kg and velocity to 2 m/s. Click Play ( ). 1. Display the BAR CHART pane and be sure that Acceleration is selected. Check Show numerical values to display the magnitude of the acceleration. What is |a|? ______________________________________________________________ _ 2. Jot down the values for |a| in the table below. 3. Set velocity to 4 m/s. What is the new value for |a|? Jot these values down in the table below.. 4. Change the velocity one more time, to 8 m/s. What is |a| in this case? Record these values as well in the table below. Velocity Acceleration 2 m/s 4 m/s 8 m/s 5. You have doubled the velocity twice. How did |a| change each time? ______________________________________________________________ 6. You should have seen that multiplying the velocity by 2 causes |a| to be multiplied by 4. How do you think tripling the velocity affects |a|? ______________________________________________________________ 7. How do you think dividing the velocity by 5 affects |a|? ______________________________________________________________ 8. Choose your own values for the velocity and test this in the Gizmo. ______________________________________________________________ _ 9. Explain the relationship, in general, between velocity and the magnitude of acceleration, |a|. Use the words "directly proportional" in your answer. ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

Force on an Object in Uniform Circular Motion

In this activity, you will explore the nature of the net force that acts upon an object that is traveling in uniform circular motion. A. Click Reset. Set the Gizmo back to the original settings - radius 8 m, mass 5 kg and velocity 8 m/s. Click Play. You saw in the previous activity that the puck is undergoing an acceleration. This means that some force must be acting upon it, and the direction of that force must be the same as the direction of the acceleration. 1. In the DESCRIPTION pane, select Show velocity and acceleration vectors. The two vectors are shown in the SIMULATION pane - the velocity vector in green and the acceleration vector in blue. Describe the direction of the velocity vector. ______________________________________________________________ 2. Describe the direction of the acceleration. ______________________________________________________________ 3. What does the acceleration vector always point toward? ______________________________________________________________ 4. You should notice that, when the settings of the Gizmo are held constant, the magnitude of acceleration, |a|, of an object is constant. (|a| is the "length" of the acceleration vector. If you like, you can also go to the BAR CHART pane, with Acceleration selected, to see the value of |a|.) Explain why the acceleration, however, is NOT constant. ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 5. Using the direction of the acceleration as a hint, what object do you think provides the force that keeps the puck traveling on its circular path? ______________________________________________________________ 6. Click Pause ( ). If the string were to break at this instant, what path would the puck travel? ______________________________________________________________ 7. Click the GRAPH tab. Then select Force vs. time from the dropdown menu to display a graph of the x- and y-components of the force that acts on the puck (Fx and Fy). Click Play. When the puck reaches the point in its

path closest to the bottom of the screen, click Pause. What is the direction of the acceleration when the puck is at this position? ______________________________________________________________ 8. Is Fx positive, negative, or zero? ______________________________________________________________ 9. What about Fy? ______________________________________________________________ 10. What does this tell you about the direction of the net force acting on the puck in this position? ______________________________________________________________ B. Click Reset. Set radius to 8 m, mass to 3 kg and velocity to 8 m/s. Click Play. Then determine the net force acting on the puck by looking at the magnitude of Fy acting on the object at the point closest to the bottom of the screen. (At that point, Fx = 0, so Fy is the entire force.) 1. What is the net force acting on the puck when the mass of the puck is 3 kg? Jot this value down, in the table below. 2. Set the mass of the puck to 6 kg. Then determine the net force acting on the puck in the same way. Record this data in the table below. How does the force compare with that recorded in the preceding step? ______________________________________________________________ 3. Set the mass to 9 kg and repeat the process one more time. Mass 3 kg 6 kg 9 kg Net Force

4. What is the relationship, in general, between the mass of an object and the net force that acts on it when acceleration is held constant? Use the words "directly proportional" or "inversely proportional" in your answer. ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

5. Based on this relationship, what would you expect the force to be if you were to set the mass of the puck to 1.5 kg? Use the Gizmo to check your response. ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

Exploration Guide: Uniform Circular Motion


Names: _____ANSWER KEY_____ ______________________________

Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory use their knowledge of circular motion when they launch spacecrafts. By timing the launch to take advantage of the circular motion of Earth rotating on its axis, scientists can control the speed with which the craft will travel around the Sun. If the spacecraft travels around the Sun at a slightly higher speed than Earth does, the radius of its orbit will slowly increase, and it will move outward through the Solar System. This way, the craft could intersect with the orbits of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto. If the spacecraft travels around the Sun at a slightly lower speed than the Earth does, the radius of its orbit will slowly decrease, and it will move inward toward the Sun. This could bring the probe near the inner planets, Venus and Mercury.

Acceleration of an Object in Uniform Circular Motion


In this activity, you will explore the acceleration of an object that travels a circular path at constant speed. Motion of this kind is called uniform circular motion. A. The Gizmotm shows both a top view and a side view of a puck constrained by a string, traveling a circular path on an air table. Be sure the Gizmo has these settings: radius 8 m, mass 5 kg, and velocity 8 m/s. Then click Play and observe the motion of the puck. 1. The puck in the Gizmo is traveling at a constant speed, but it is NOT traveling at a constant velocity. Explain why. ______because its direction is constantly changing___________________ (Hint: Velocity is a vector quantity that includes both a magnitude and a direction.)

2. Because the velocity of the puck is changing (because its direction is changing), the puck must be experiencing an acceleration. Click BAR CHART and choose Acceleration from the dropdown menu. Check Show numerical values. The leftmost bar shows the magnitude of the acceleration, or |a|. (The other two bars show the x- and y-components of the acceleration, ax and ay.) What is the value of |a|? Jot this value down, along with radius = 8 m, in the table below. 3. Keeping velocity set to 8 m/s, set radius to 4 m. (To quickly set a slider to a value, typing the number in the field to the right of the slider and press Enter.) What is the new magnitude of the acceleration, |a|?Jot down this new value along, with radius = 4 m, with your previous data, in the table below 4. Now set the radius to 2 m. What is the resulting value for |a|? 5. Record these values along with the others, in the table below. Radius 8m 4m 2m Acceleration 8 m/s2 16 m/s2 32 m/s2

6. Examine the corresponding pairs of values for the radius and the magnitude of the acceleration, |a|. How does |a| change when the radius is divided by 2? _When you divide the radius by 2, you multiply the acceleration by 2. ______ 7. How do you think |a| changes when the radius is multiplied by 2? _When you multiply the radius by 2, you divide the acceleration by 2._______ 8. Multiplied by 3? _When you multiply the radius by 2, you divide the acceleration by 3._______ 9. Choose your own values for the radius to test your answers in the Gizmo. What were your results? _Answers will vary. r = 3m a = 21.33 m/s2 , 2r = 6m a = 10.67 m/s2 , 3r = 9m a = 7.11 m/s2__ 10. You should have found that, in general, when the radius is multiplied by a number, |a|is divided by that same number. Also, when the radius is divided by a number, |a| is multiplied by the same number. One way to say

this is, the magnitude of acceleration is inversely proportional to the radius. B. Click Reset ( ). Set radius to 8 m, mass to 5 kg and velocity to 2 m/s. Click Play ( ). 1. Display the BAR CHART pane and be sure that Acceleration is selected. Check Show numerical values to display the magnitude of the acceleration. What is |a|? _______a = 0.50 m/s2_____________________________________________ 2. Jot down the values for |a| in the table below. 3. Set velocity to 4 m/s. What is the new value for |a|? Jot these values down in the table below.. 4. Change the velocity one more time, to 8 m/s. What is |a| in this case? Record these values as well in the table below. Velocity 2 m/s 4 m/s 8 m/s Acceleration 0.5 m/s2 2.0 m/s2 8.0 m/s2

5. You have doubled the velocity twice. How did |a| change each time? ___You multiplied the original acceleration by 4 each time. ______________ 6. You should have seen that multiplying the velocity by 2 causes |a| to be multiplied by 4. How do you think tripling the velocity affects |a|? ___You multiplied the original acceleration by 9. _______________________ 7. How do you think dividing the velocity by 5 affects |a|? ___You divided the original acceleration by 25. ________________________ 8. Choose your own values for the velocity and test this in the Gizmo. _ Answers will vary. v = 3 m/s a = 1.13 m/s2, 3v = 9m/s a = 10.13 m/s2, v = 10 m/s a =
12.50 m/s2, v/5 = 2 m/s a = 0.5 m/s2. _____________________________________________

9. Explain the relationship, in general, between velocity and the magnitude of acceleration, |a|. Use the words "directly proportional" in your answer. __Acceleration is directly proportional to the objects velocity squared. _____

Force on an Object in Uniform Circular Motion


In this activity, you will explore the nature of the net force that acts upon an object that is traveling in uniform circular motion. A. Click Reset. Set the Gizmo back to the original settings - radius 8 m, mass 5 kg and velocity 8 m/s. Click Play. You saw in the previous activity that the puck is undergoing an acceleration. This means that some force must be acting upon it, and the direction of that force must be the same as the direction of the acceleration. 1. In the DESCRIPTION pane, select Show velocity and acceleration vectors. The two vectors are shown in the SIMULATION pane - the velocity vector in green and the acceleration vector in blue. Describe the direction of the velocity vector. __The velocity vector is tangent to the circular path. ____________________ 2. Describe the direction of the acceleration. __The acceleration vector points towards the center of the circular path. _____ 3. What does the acceleration vector always point toward? __It points towards the center of the circle. ____________________________ 4. You should notice that, when the settings of the Gizmo are held constant, the magnitude of acceleration, |a|, of an object is constant. (|a| is the "length" of the acceleration vector. If you like, you can also go to the BAR CHART pane, with Acceleration selected, to see the value of |a|.) Explain why the acceleration, however, is NOT constant. __Because the direction of the acceleration is also changing. ______________ 5. Using the direction of the acceleration as a hint, what object do you think provides the force that keeps the puck traveling on its circular path? __The string provides the force that keeps the puck moving in a circle. ______ 6. Click Pause ( ). If the string were to break at this instant, what path would the puck travel? _The puck will travel in a straight line path in the same direction of the velocity vector. __________________________________________________ 7. Click the GRAPH tab. Then select Force vs. time from the dropdown menu to display a graph of the x- and y-components of the force that acts

on the puck (Fx and Fy). Click Play. When the puck reaches the point in its path closest to the bottom of the screen, click Pause. What is the direction of the acceleration when the puck is at this position? ___It points up towards the center of the circle (+ y-axis). _______________ 8. Is Fx positive, negative, or zero? ______________Positive__________________________________________ 9. What about Fy? ______________Positive__________________________________________ 10. What does this tell you about the direction of the net force acting on the puck in this position? _The net force is also pointing up towards the center just like the acceleration vector. _________________________________________________________ B. Click Reset. Set radius to 8 m, mass to 3 kg and velocity to 8 m/s. Click Play. Then determine the net force acting on the puck by looking at the magnitude of Fy acting on the object at the point closest to the bottom of the screen. (At that point, Fx = 0, so Fy is the entire force.) 1. What is the net force acting on the puck when the mass of the puck is 3 kg? Jot this value down, in the table below. 2. Set the mass of the puck to 6 kg. Then determine the net force acting on the puck in the same way. Record this data in the table below. How does the force compare with that recorded in the preceding step? __The force is multiplied by 2 if you multiply the mass by 2. _____________ 3. Set the mass to 9 kg and repeat the process one more time. Mass 3 kg 6 kg 9 kg Net Force 25 N 50 N 75 N

4. What is the relationship, in general, between the mass of an object and the net force that acts on it when acceleration is held constant? Use the words "directly proportional" or "inversely proportional" in your answer.

__The net force on an object is directly proportional to the mass. ______________________________________________________________ _ 5. Based on this relationship, what would you expect the force to be if you were to set the mass of the puck to 1.5 kg? Use the Gizmo to check your response. _If you divide the mass by 2, you will divide the force by 2. If m = 1.5 kg, then F = 12.5 N. _________________________________________________

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