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Aims
Introduce the quantities of circular motion,
Understand that if a body moves in a circle there must be an acceleration towards the centre and therefore an unbalanced force towards the centre.
Accept that centripetal Force=mv2/r and use this equation to solve simple problems
Identify the centripetal force in a variety of examples.
Introduce the concept of fields to explain how bodies can experience a force without contact.
State Newton's Universal law and apply it to calculate the force acting on a body close to the earth.
See how Newton's law gives the correct value for the acceleration of gravity close to the earth and the period of the earth's orbit around the Sun.
Understand the concept of "field strength" as a measure of the size of a field and calculate field strengths.
Understand how field lines can be used to give a visual representation of the field.
Knowing that Field strength is a vector, add field strengths vectorially.
#newton
TOK
This is another example of perception vs physical reality. Ones feeling when you go round a corner in a car is that you are being pushed outwards however physics says the force is inwards.
Newton's law is called "The Universal law" which means it applies to the Universe, this is a bold claim. Can we really claim to know that this law applies to every body in the universe?
Gravity acts between every particle of mass in the universe. This means that if a red ball on the earth is moved every particle of matter in the Universe will feel it.
Field lines do not exist but just help us to visualise the field, why do we need to be able to visualise it? What about blind people, how do they visualise fields?
Why does a ball fall? Because of gravity. What is gravity? The thing that makes the ball fall.
NOS
We can conclude that if a body moves in a circle there must be a force towards the centre by considering energy changes or the change of velocity over a short displacement. Two different perspectives give the same outcome.
The field model is one that is used in other areas of physics.
Was Newton's theory subject to peer review? Apparently not Link.
Newton's law has now been superseded by Einstein's theory of general relativity, a very different way of looking at the problem.
Utilisations
Fairground rides, cars going around bends, looping the loop.
Circular Motion Sub-pages:
Circular Motion Sub-pages:
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