A ball is tied to a string and swung in a vertical circle. At the highest point of the circle, what is the condition for the ball to remain in circular motion?
Practice Questions
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Q1
A ball is tied to a string and swung in a vertical circle. At the highest point of the circle, what is the condition for the ball to remain in circular motion?
Tension must be zero
Tension must be maximum
Weight must be zero
Centripetal force must be zero
At the highest point, the tension can be zero if the centripetal force is provided entirely by the weight.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
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Q
Q: A ball is tied to a string and swung in a vertical circle. At the highest point of the circle, what is the condition for the ball to remain in circular motion?
Solution: At the highest point, the tension can be zero if the centripetal force is provided entirely by the weight.
Steps: 6
Step 1: Understand that the ball is moving in a circle and needs a force to keep it moving in that circle. This force is called centripetal force.
Step 2: At the highest point of the circle, two forces act on the ball: its weight (downward) and the tension in the string (also downward if the string is taut).
Step 3: The weight of the ball is the force due to gravity, which pulls it down towards the ground.
Step 4: For the ball to stay in circular motion at the highest point, the total downward force (weight + tension) must equal the required centripetal force to keep it moving in a circle.
Step 5: If the tension in the string is zero, then the weight of the ball must provide all the necessary centripetal force.
Step 6: Therefore, the condition for the ball to remain in circular motion at the highest point is that the weight of the ball must be equal to the required centripetal force.
