Question

Is the uniform circular motion accelerated? Give reason

Answer 1

In this question, we will first know the basic definition of a circular motion, and then we will know about the uniform circular motion. This will help us to know our answer to the given question. We will also see the three laws of motion given by Newton. Also, we will study the basic difference between velocity and speed, for our better understanding.

Complete solution:
As we know from the basics that a circular motion is a movement of an object or a body along the circumference of a circle or circular path. Circular motion can be uniform, with constant angular rate of rotation and constant speed, or it can be non-uniform with a changing rate of rotation of the object or the body.
When we go in detail, uniform circular motion is accelerated because the velocity changes due to continuous change in the direction of motion of the given object or the body. So, even when the body moves with a constant speed, the velocity of the body is not constant. So, we can say that for a body moving in a circular path having constant speed, its velocity changes continuously. Finally this change in velocity gives rise to acceleration in the moving body or moving object.

Therefore we can say yes, the uniform circular motion is accelerated because the velocity of the object or the body changes due to continuous change in the direction of motion.

Additional information:
As we know that there are three laws of motions given by Newton. These laws of motion relate an object's motion to the forces acting on it.
First law of motion states that an object continues to be in rest or in motion in a particular direction until and unless any external force is applied on it.
Now in the second law of motion, the force on an object is equal to its mass times its acceleration. This law also gives the relation of momentum and force.
The last one is the third law of motion, every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
Also, we know that force is simply any push or pull. The S.I unit of force is Newton which is represented by N. Force is given by product of mass and acceleration. Here acceleration is defined as the increase in the velocity of an object. The acceleration is measured in meters per Second Square.
We already know the basic difference of speed and velocity i.e., speed is the measure of how fast an object can travel, whereas velocity tells us the direction of this speed. Speed is a scalar quantity that means it has only magnitude, whereas velocity is a vector quantity that means it has both magnitude and direction. The S.I unit of velocity is meter per second (m/sec).

Note:
We should remember that, there are different types of motion a body or an object can have, for example- circular motion, rectangular motion, straight line motion, parabolic motion etc. We should also note that, we can say an object is in rest or in motion always with respect to its surroundings.