All Flashcards
What is the effect of a net force acting towards the center of a circular path?
It causes centripetal acceleration, resulting in uniform circular motion.
What is the effect of doubling the radius on centripetal acceleration, given constant speed?
The centripetal acceleration is halved (a_c = v^2/r).
What happens to the center of mass if one mass in a two-mass system is increased?
The center of mass shifts closer to the heavier mass.
What happens when an external force acts on a system of particles?
The center of mass of the system accelerates.
What is position?
Where an object is located.
What is displacement?
The change in position; a vector quantity.
What is velocity?
The rate of change of position; a vector quantity.
What is acceleration?
The rate of change of velocity; a vector quantity.
What is centripetal acceleration?
Acceleration directed towards the center of a circular path.
What is centripetal force?
The net force causing centripetal acceleration, directed towards the center of the circle.
What is the center of mass (COM)?
The average position of all the mass in a system.
What is the difference between average and instantaneous velocity?
Average velocity is the change in position over a time interval. Instantaneous velocity is the velocity at a specific moment in time, requiring calculus.
What is the difference between uniform and non-uniform motion?
Uniform motion has constant velocity (zero acceleration). Non-uniform motion has changing velocity (non-zero acceleration).
Differentiate between speed and velocity.
Speed is the rate at which an object is moving. Velocity is the rate at which an object is moving in a specific direction.
Differentiate between centripetal force and centrifugal force.
Centripetal force is a real force that causes an object to move in a circular path, directed towards the center of the circle. Centrifugal force is a fictitious force that appears to act outward on an object moving in a circular path, only observed in a non-inertial (rotating) frame of reference.