Circular Motion, Work, Energy

and Power

FSC115
Outline
• Circular motion,
• Newton’s universal law of gravitation,
• determining the value of G,
• satellite motion,
• velocity of escape,
• Kepler’s laws.
• Concept of work, energy, power.
• Conservation of mechanical energy.
• Application of conservation laws.
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Circular Motion: Angular Speed
In purely rotational motion, all
points on the object move in
circles around the axis of rotation
(“O”). The radius of the circle is
r. All points on a straight line
drawn through the axis move
through the same angle in the
same time. The angle θ in radians
is defined:

where l is the arc length.

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Circular Motion: Angular Speed
Angular displacement:
Δθ = θ2 – θ1
The average angular velocity is
defined as the total angular
displacement divided by time:

The instantaneous angular

velocity:

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Circular Motion: Acceleration
The angular acceleration is the rate at which
the angular velocity changes with time:

The instantaneous angular acceleration:

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Angular Velocity and Linear Velocity

Every point on a rotating body has an angular

velocity ω and a linear velocity v.
They are related:

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Angular Acceleration and Linear
Acceleration
If the angular velocity of a rotating object
changes, it has a tangential acceleration:

Even if the angular velocity is

constant, each point on the object
has a centripetal acceleration:

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Angular Acceleration and Linear
Acceleration
Here is the correspondence between linear
and rotational quantities:

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 Angular Quantities
The frequency is the number of complete
revolutions
per second:
f = ω/2π
Frequencies are measured in hertz.
1 Hz = 1 s−1
The period is the time one revolution takes:

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 Constant Angular Acceleration
The equations of motion for constant angular
acceleration are the same as those for linear
motion, with the substitution of the angular
quantities for the linear ones.

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Rolling Motion (Without Slipping)
In (a), a wheel is rolling without
slipping. The point P, touching
the ground, is instantaneously at
rest, and the center moves with
velocity v.
In (b) the same wheel is seen from
a reference frame where C is at
rest. Now point P is moving with
velocity –v.
Relationship between linear and
angular speeds: v = rω
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Centripetal Acceleration
• Consider an object moving in a circular orbit of
radius r with uniform tangential speed v.
• Speed constant but velocity changing. Why?
• Hence the object is accelerating.
• The acceleration is always directed toward the
centre of the circle,
• Hence it is sometimes called centripetal
acceleration, which means centre-seeking
acceleration.
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Centripetal Acceleration
Centripetal acceleration
v 2 r 
2
a   r 2
r r

Centripetal force
mv 2
F  ma 
r

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 Newton’s Law of Universal
Gravitation
If the force of gravity is being exerted on objects
on Earth, what is the origin of that force?
Newton’s realization was that
the force must come from the
Earth.
He further realized that this
force must be what keeps the
Moon in its orbit.

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 Newton’s Law of Universal
Gravitation
The gravitational force on you is one-half of a
Third Law pair: the Earth exerts a downward
force on you, and you exert an upward force
on the Earth.
When there is such a
disparity in masses, the
reaction force is undetectable,
but for bodies more equal in
mass it can be significant.

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 Newton’s Law of Universal
Gravitation
Therefore, the gravitational force
must be proportional to both masses.
By observing planetary orbits,
Newton also concluded that the
gravitational force must decrease as
the inverse of the square of the
distance between the masses.
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 Newton’s Law of Universal
Gravitation
Newton’s law of universal gravitation
states that every particle in the
Universe attracts every other particle
with a force that is directly proportional
to the product of their masses and
inversely proportional to the square of
the distance between them.
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 Newton’s Law of Universal
Gravitation
In its mathematical form, the Law of
Universal Gravitation
reads:

where G = 6.67 × 10−11 N·m2/kg2

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 Newton’s Law of Universal
Gravitation
The magnitude of the gravitational
constant G can be measured in the
laboratory. This is the Cavendish
experiment.

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 Free-Fall Acceleration
Now we can relate the gravitational constant
to the local acceleration of gravity. We know
that, on the surface of the Earth:
Gravitational field
strength (g) at a point is
the gravitational force
Solving for g gives: per unit mass at that
point. It is a vector and
its S.I. unit is Nkg-1.
Now, knowing g and the radius of the Earth,
the mass of the Earth can be calculated:
 Free-Fall Acceleration
• The gravitational force obeys an
inverse-square law at points outside
the Earth, that is, g α 1/r2,
• Inside the Earth, the value of g is
not inversely proportional to the
square of the distance from the
centre but varies linearly
 Free-Fall Acceleration

Figure 5.6: Variation of g with r (R is the radius of

the earth)
 Free-Fall Acceleration
• Consider an object of mass m
located at a distance h above the
Earth’s surface or a distance r from
the Earth’s centre, where r = Re + h.
GM e m GM e m
Fg  mg  
r 2
 Re  h 2
GM e
g
Re  h 2
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 Gravitational Potential
• Change in the gravitational potential energy
for a body displaced between two points:
rf

U  U f  U i    F r dr
ri
• The gravitational force
GM e m
F r    where the negative sign indicates
r2 that the force is attractive.

• Hence
 1   GM m 1  1 
rf rf
1
U f  U i  GM e m  2 dr  GM e m   e  
ri r  r  ri  rf ri 

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 Gravitational Potential
• Taking the point ri = ∞ (i.e Ui = 0) as
the reference point,
GM e m
U 
r

• valid provided that r  Re .

• not valid for particles inside the
Earth, where r  R . e

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 Gravitational Potential
• If the mass m is at an altitude h
above the Earth’s surface, then:
GM e m
U 
Re  h

• The gravitational potential energy

for any pair of particles of masses
m1 and m2 separated by a distance r
is: U  
Gm m
r
1 2

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 Satellite Motion
Satellites are routinely put into orbit around
the Earth. The tangential speed must be high
enough so that the satellite does not return to
Earth, but not so high that it escapes Earth’s
gravity altogether.

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 Satellite Motion
The satellite is kept in orbit by its speed—it is
continually falling, but the Earth curves from
underneath it.

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 Satellite Motion
Objects in orbit are said to experience
weightlessness. They do have a gravitational
force acting on them, though!
The satellite and all its contents are in free
fall, so there is no normal force. This is what
leads to the experience of weightlessness.

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 Satellite Motion
More properly, this effect is called apparent
weightlessness, because the gravitational force
still exists. It can be experienced on Earth as
well, but only briefly:

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 Satellite Motion
• Consider a satellite of mass m moving with
speed v in an orbit around the Earth of mass
Me: mv GM m 2
F  2
e

r r
GM e
v
r

• where r = Re + h.
• The total mechanical energy
1 GM e m GM e m GM e m GM e m
E  K U  mv 2    
2 r 2r r 2r

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 Velocity of Escape
• What is escape velocity?
• an object of mass m is projected from the
Earth’s surface at point P with an initial speed
vesc
• work done W
= m ×potential difference
between infinity and
the point P
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 Velocity of Escape
GM
W  m
Re
1 2 GM
K  mvesc  m
2 Re

2GM
 vesc 
Re

• Using gRe2  GM e

vesc  2 gRe

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 Kepler’s Laws
• Kepler (1571–1630). Kepler’s laws state that:
• 1. The orbit of each planet is an ellipse, with
the Sun at one focus.

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 Kepler’s Laws
• 2. The line joining the Sun and the other
planets sweeps out equal areas in equal times.

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 Kepler’s Laws
• The squares of the periods of revolution of
the planets are proportional to the cubes of
their mean distances from the Sun; that is,
T 2 r 3
• Show that the period T of the satellite for a
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r
complete orbit is proportional to .

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Examples

37
 Examples

• Solution
• The correct option is A.
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Examples

39
 Examples

• Solution
• The correct option is C.
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Examples

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Examples

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Examples

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 Examples

Solution
The correct option is D.

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WORK, ENERGY
AND POWER

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 Work Done by a Constant Force
The work done by a constant force is defined
as the distance moved multiplied by the
component of the force in the direction of
displacement:

W  Fx

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 Work Done by a Constant Force
The work done by a constant force is defined
as the distance moved multiplied by the
component of the force in the direction of
displacement:

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 Work Done by a Constant Force
If θ is 90°, then W  Fd cos 90  0 . Thus, no work is
o

done by a force if the point on which it acts is

displaced in a direction which is perpendicular
to the direction of the force.
From the definition of scalar product:
 
W  F.r Illustrate
In S.I. units, the unit of work is the newton-
metre, with the special name joule (J).

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 Work Done by a Constant Force
Work done by forces that oppose the direction
of motion, such as friction, will be negative.

Centripetal forces do
no work, as they are
always perpendicular
to the direction of
motion.

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 Work Done by a Variable Force
• For a force that varies, the work can be
approximated by dividing the distance up into small
pieces, finding the work done during each, and
adding them up. As the pieces become very narrow,
the work done is the area under the force vs.
distance curve.

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 Work Done by a Variable Force
• The work done by the force in the total
displacement from xi to xf is approximately:
W  F1 x1  F2 x 2  F3 x3  F4 x 4  ...
xf

W   F x dx
xi

• The Eqn above shows that the work done by a

variable force F(x), in moving an object from xi
to xf is the area under the graph of F(x) against
x, bounded by vertical lines at xi to xf.
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 Energy
• Energy is defined as the capacity to do work.
• The main forms of energy are:
– Heat
– Chemical
– Electromagnetic
– Nuclear
– Electrical
– Mechanical
– Solar

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 Energy
• Energy can neither be created nor destroyed
but it can be changed from one form to
another.
• These changes in the form of energy are called
energy conversions.
• Give several examples of energy conversion.

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 Kinetic Energy: the Work-Energy
Theorem
• Kinetic energy is a form of energy that is
closely associated with work. Kinetic energy is
defined as the energy a body possesses by
virtue of its motion.
1
K  mv 2
2

 v 2  v o2  1 1
W  Fx   m  x  mv 2  mvo2
 Work-Energy Theorem
 2x  2 2

• State Work-Energy theorem.

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 Kinetic Energy: the Work-Energy
Theorem
• If the net work is positive, the kinetic energy
increases.
• If the net work is negative, the kinetic energy
decreases.
• Because work and kinetic energy can be
equated, they must have the same units:
kinetic energy is measured in joules.

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Conservative Forces: Potential Energy
An object can have potential energy by virtue of
its surroundings.
Familiar examples of potential energy:
• A wound-up spring
• A stretched elastic band
• An object at some height above the ground

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Conservative Forces: Potential Energy

In raising a mass m to a
height h, the work done by
the external force is

We therefore define the

gravitational potential
energy:

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Conservative Forces: Potential Energy
A force is said to be conservative if the work
done by or against it in moving an object is
independent of the object’s path.
The implication of this statement is that the
work done by a conservative force depends only
on the initial and final positions of an object.
Examples of conservative forces include the
force due to gravity and the spring force.

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Conservative Forces: Potential Energy

• Explain non-conservative or
dissipative force.
• Examples of non-conservative forces
are the frictional force between two
solid surfaces and the drag force for
motion through a fluid.

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Conservative Forces: Potential Energy

Potential energy can

only be defined for
conservative forces.

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 Conservative and Nonconservative
Forces
Therefore, we distinguish between the work
done by conservative forces and the work
done by nonconservative forces.
We find that the work done by
nonconservative forces is equal to the total
change in kinetic and potential energies:
 The Law of Conservation of
Mechanical Energy
If there are no nonconservative forces, the
sum of the changes in the kinetic energy and
in the potential energy is zero—the kinetic
and potential energy changes are equal but
opposite in sign.
This allows us to define the total mechanical
energy: E = KE + PE
And its conservation:
The Law of Conservation of
Mechanical Energy
In the image on the left, the
total mechanical energy is:
E = KE + PE = ½ mv2 + mgy

The energy buckets on the

right of the figure show how
the energy moves from all
potential to all kinetic.
 The Law of Conservation of
Mechanical Energy
For an elastic force, conservation of energy
tells us:
 Example
• 6.17. An egg falls from a nest at a height of
4m. What speed will it have when it is 1m
from the ground? Neglect air resistance and
take g = 9.8m/s2.
• A. 7.1m/s B. 4.43m/s C. 58.8m/s D. 7.67m/s

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Example

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 Example
• 6.16. A body is released from rest and
allowed to fall freely from a given height
under gravity. The kinetic energy at its
halfway point is:
• A. a little above half of its initial energy
• B. a little below half of its initial energy
• C. a half of its initial energy
• D. a little above its initial energy
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 Example
• 6.16. A body is released from rest and
allowed to fall freely from a given height
under gravity. The kinetic energy at its
halfway point is:
• A. a little above half of its initial energy
• B. a little below half of its initial energy
• C. a half of its initial energy
• D. a little above its initial energy
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 Power
Power is the rate at which work is done.

In the SI system, the units of

power are watts:
1W = 1 J/s
The difference between walking
and running up these stairs is
power—the change in
gravitational
potential energy is the same.
 Power
Power is also needed for acceleration and for
moving against the force of gravity.
The average power can be written in terms of
the force and the average velocity:
 Example
• 6.18. A car of mass 1200kg accelerates
from rest to a speed of 25m/s in a time of
8.0s. What is the average power produced?
• A. 7.1kW B. 4.43kW C. 47kW D. 7.67kW

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 Example
• 6.18. A car of mass 1200kg accelerates
from rest to a speed of 25m/s in a time of
8.0s. What is the average power produced?
• A. 7.1kW B. 4.43kW C. 47kW D. 7.67kW

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 Example
• 6.20. The force generated from the engine
of a car is found to be 300N. Calculate the
power developed when the car moves with a
constant speed of 5m/s.
• A. 7.1W B. 4.43W C. 1500W D. 7.67W

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 Example
• 6.20. The force generated from the engine
of a car is found to be 300N. Calculate the
power developed when the car moves with a
constant speed of 5m/s.
• A. 7.1W B. 4.43W C. 1500W D. 7.67W
Solution
P = force x velocity = 300 x 5W = 1500W
The correct option is C.
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 Practice at Home
• 5.9. The mass of the moon is about 1/81
that of the Earth and the distance from the
centre of the Earth to that of the moon is about
4.0 x 105km. At what point between the moon
and the Earth will the resultant gravitational
force on a spacecraft become zero?
• A. 3.6 x 105km from the centre of the Earth
• B. 3.6 x 105km from the centre of the moon
• C. 4.0 x 105km from the centre of the Earth
• D. 4.0 x 105km from the centre of the moon

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 Practice at Home
• 5.11. A spacecraft is in circular orbit about
the Earth at an altitude h of 400km. Calculate
the orbital speed and the centripetal
acceleration if the spacecraft makes one
revolution every 85 min.
• A. 8.4 x 103m/s, 9.8m/s2
• B. 4.8 x 103m/s, 10.0m/s2
• C. 8.4 x 103m/s, 10.4m/s2
• D. 4.8 x 103m/s, 10.4m/s2
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 Practice at Home
• 5.16. Which of the following represents Kepler’s
law?
• A. Each planet moves in an elliptical orbit with the
Earth at one focus of the ellipse.
• B. The line joining the Sun and the planet sweeps out
unequal areas in equal times.
• C. The squares of the periods of revolution of the
planets are proportional to the cubes of their mean
distances from the Sun.
• D. The squares of the periods of revolution of the
planets are inversely proportional to the cubes of
their mean distances from the Sun.

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 Summary
• Angles are measured in radians; a whole circle
is 2π radians.
• Angular velocity is the rate of change of
angular position.
• Angular acceleration is the rate of change of
angular velocity.
• The angular velocity and acceleration can be
related to the linear velocity and acceleration.
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 Summary
• The frequency is the number of full
revolutions per second; the period is the
inverse of the frequency.
• The equations for rotational motion with
constant angular acceleration have the same
form as those for linear motion with
constant acceleration.

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 Summary
• Newton’s law of universal gravitation states that every
particle in the Universe attracts every other particle with a
force that is directly proportional to the product of their
masses and inversely proportional to the square of the
distance between them.
• Kepler’s laws state that:
– Each planet moves in an elliptical orbit with the Sun at
one focus of the ellipse.
– The line joining the Sun and the planet sweeps out equal
areas in equal times.
– The squares of the periods of revolution of the planets
are proportional to the cubes of their mean distances
from the Sun.

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 Summary
• Work: W = Fd cos θ
• Kinetic energy is energy of motion: KE = ½ mv2
• Potential energy is energy associated with forces
that depend on the position or configuration of
objects.
• The net work done on an object equals the change
in its kinetic energy.
• If only conservative forces are acting, mechanical
energy is conserved.
• Power is the rate at which work is done.
 References
• Adewale, A.O. (2017). Physics for University
Beginners Vol. 1 (3rd Edition). Lagos: LAJOM
Consulting.
• Giancoli, D. C. (1984). Physics for Scientists
and Engineers. New Jersey: Pearson
Education, Inc.
• Nelkon, M., & Parker, P. (1995). Advanced
Level Physics. New Delhi, India: CBS
Publishers & Distributors.
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