AP Physics 1 · Unit 2, Part 2 · Circular Motion and Gravity

Centripetal Force Practice Problems

Identify the real forces that turn an object. Compare horizontal tethers, flat road curves, rotating platforms, and conical pendulums.

12 questions6 conceptual · 6 calculation

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Simulation scene from the Centripetal Force lesson. — A scene from the related lesson. Open the practice to work through the questions.

What you’ll practice

Connect the turning motion with its actual interactions

Separate radial and tangential effects

Distinguish a change in velocity direction from a change in speed. Predict the path after a tether is released.

Use speed, radius, and rotation rate together

Calculate inward acceleration, rope tension, revolution time, and limiting speed. Compare riders at different radii on one platform.

Resolve a conical pendulum’s tension

Find the horizontal circle radius and resolve the full rope tension into vertical and inward components.

A question from this set

Turning at constant speed

A small puck follows a horizontal circle at constant speed. How are its velocity and net horizontal force directed at any instant?

Both point along the tangent.
Velocity is tangent; the net horizontal force points toward the center.
Velocity points inward; the net horizontal force points outward.

Try it in the practice set

A puck moves at constant speed around a fixed center. The arrow marks the direction around the path.

Key ideas

Name the interaction before writing the radial equation

Centripetal describes the net inward effect

A rope, road friction, or another real interaction supplies the required inward net force. Do not add a separate centripetal-force arrow to those forces.

A turning object can keep the same speed

Velocity is tangent to the path. A perpendicular net force changes its direction; a tangential component changes its speed.

See the physics

Follow the moving object and its force arrows

After attempting a question, run the tether, curve, platform, or conical-pendulum trial. Compare the measured motion with the inward force and inspect the release or grip-limit comparisons.

Use a hint for a starting point or open a worked solution to follow the reasoning. Your progress saves in this browser, so you can return to unfinished questions.

Ready for centripetal force?

Begin with a conceptual question, then work through the calculations.

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