Circular Motion Basics

There is always a force pulling the object toward the center.

It might keep a constant SPEED, but its VELOCITY changes because its DIRECTION changes.

Remember: velocity has direction and speed does not.

In a satellite's case, the pull is gravity.

Anytime you have a force pulling something toward the center, we call it centripetal force.

This formula is used for circular motion for engineers designing curves in roads, rocket scientists putting satellites into space, roller coaster designers, and much more!