Q. The centripetal acceleration of particle of mass moving with a velocity in a circular orbit of radius is:
Solution:
When a particle performs a uniform circular motion, its direction changes continuously though its speed remains constant, thus its velocity changes continuously, that is there is an acceleration in circular motion. The direction of this acceleration is always towards the centre of the circle. Hence, it is called centripetal acceleration, given by
Non-uniform circular motion has tangential acceleration and resultant acceleration is
