Centripetal Force Worksheet
1. A runner moving at a speed of 8.8m/s rounds a bend with a radius of 25m.
a. What is the centripetal acceleration of the runner?
b. What agent exerts the force on the runner?
2. Racing on a flat track, a car going 32m/s rounds a curve 56m in radius.
a. What is the car’s centripetal acceleration?
3. Can you go around a curve with zero acceleration? Explain
4. Can you go around a curve with constant acceleration? Explain
5. To obtain uniform circular motion, how must the net force depend on the speed of the
moving object?
6. If you whirl a yo-yo about your head in a horizontal circle, in what direction must a force act
on the yo-yo? What exerts the force?
7. You swing a yo-yo about your head in a horizontal circle, then you swing another one with
twice the mass, but you don’t change the length of the string or the period. How do the tensions
in the strings differ?
8. The curves on a race track are banked to make it easier for the cars to go around the curves
at high speed. Draw a free-body diagram of a car on a banked curve. From the motion
diagram, find the direction of the acceleration.
a. What exerts the force in the direction of the acceleration?
b. Can you have such a force without friction?
9. A 615kg racing car completes one lap in 14.3s around a circular track with a radius of 50m.
The car moves with a constant speed.
a. What is the acceleration of the car? What force must the track exert on the tires to
produce this acceleration?
10. An athlete whirls in a 7kg hammer tied to the end of a 1.3m chain in a horizontal circle.
The hammer makes 1 revolution in 1sec. What is the centripetal acceleration of the hammer
and what is the tension in the chain?
11. A carnival ride has a 2m radius and rotates once in 0.90s. Find a) the speed of the rider; b)
the centripetal acceleration of a rider.