PHYS 1301 - Chapter 6: Uniform Circular Motion & Gravitation

Flashcards covering key concepts from Chapter 6 on Uniform Circular Motion and Gravitation. Each flashcard addresses significant terms and their definitions.

What is uniform circular motion?

Motion that follows a circular path at a constant speed.

What are the two forms of motion in this chapter?

Rotational and Translational motion.

What is pure rotational motion?

Occurs when points in an object move in circular paths centered about one point.

What does rotational angle measure?

The ratio of the arc length and the radius of curvature.

How is circumference expressed for a complete rotation?

Circumference is expressed as 2πr.

How is rotation angle expressed in radians?

The rotation angle is defined as  = 2π.

How do you convert degrees to radians?

180° equals π radians; therefore, 1 rad = 57.3°.

What is angular velocity?

Angular velocity (ω) provides the rate of change of an angle and can be expressed as Δθ/Δt.

What is the relationship between angular velocity and linear velocity?

Linear velocity is proportional to the radius and angular velocity.

What is centripetal acceleration?

Acceleration toward the center of a circular path experienced during uniform circular motion.

What is the centripetal force needed for uniform circular motion?

A net external force pointing towards the center of the circular path.

What are fictitious forces?

Unreal forces that arise from motion and seem real because the observer’s frame of reference is accelerating.

What is Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation?

Every particle attracts every other particle with a force proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.