What causes centripetal acceleration?
Centripetal force
- A centripetal force of constant magnitude always acts perpendicular to the direction of motion and causes centripetal acceleration
- The centripetal force (F) is defined as:
The resultant force towards the centre of the circle required to keep a body in uniform circular motion. It is always directed towards the centre of the body's rotation.
- Centripetal force is not a separate force of its own
- It can be created by different forces depending on the situation, for example gravitational force or tension
Examples of centripetal force
Situation | Centripetal Force |
Car travelling around a roundabout | Friction |
Ball attached to a rope moving in a circle | Tension |
Earth orbiting the Sun | Gravitational attraction |
- The centripetal force and acceleration act in the same direction towards the centre of the circle
- Perpendicular to the direction of the linear speed
- Velocity and acceleration are both vector quantities
- An object in uniform circular motion is continuously changing direction, so, therefore, has a constantly changing linear velocity
- The object is accelerating
Centripetal force and acceleration
Centripetal force and acceleration are always directed towards the centre of the circle
Examiner Tip
- The linear speed is sometimes referred to as the ‘tangential’ speed
- A tangent is a straight line which touches a circle or curve at exactly one point
- The key feature of a tangent to a circle is that it always acts perpendicular to its radius
- You can find out more in the A Level Maths revision notes on Tangents