Worksheet for Interactive Lab3: Circular Motion
Name _____________ Physics 216 Grade ___/42 Date ______
Circular motion is one of the fundamental building blocks for understanding the physical world because it is so common. This interactive lets you examine the basic ideas of kinematics and forces for objects moving in circular motion.

1. (6 points) Use the controls under Show Vectors to draw arrows for several different quantities. The velocity vector is drawn in a special way: a big, bold arrow showing its direction and magnitude, plus smaller arrows for its horizontal and vertical components. * How are the directions of the acceleration and force vectors related?
Force has a magnitude and a direction, and it is a vector. If a force is applied to an object, the object will accelerate in proportion to the magnitude of the force and in the direction of the applied force * What about the directions of the velocity and force vectors?
The velocity of the object changes in response to the application of force. * And how are they influenced by the increase in mass and velocity slide bars?

This question can be answered by the equation F = ma or force equals the product of mass and acceleration. An increase in mass or acceleration will result in more force.

2. (6 points) The large slider on the left changes the angle at which you view the spinning system. Try watching the motion from above (the default) and from the side. What would the system look like if you could use a second slider to change the viewing angle horizontally -- to the left or right? (imagine a dinner plate viewed form the different perspective). How does your results compare with the Velocity set in the slider bar.

For this example I used my notebook to imagine the horizontal changing of the graph. I also experimented by tilting my head and looking at the graph to get a