Radius
Definition
The radius is defined as the distance from the center to any point on the circumference (outer edge) of a circle or sphere. It is half the diameter.
Analogy
Imagine you have a pizza and you want to measure how big it is without using any tools. You can simply measure from its center to any point on its crust - that's your radius!
Related terms
Diameter: The distance across a circle or sphere passing through its center, equal to twice the radius.
Circumference: The distance around the outer edge of a circle.
Center: The point inside a circle or sphere that is equidistant from all points on its circumference.
"Radius" appears in:
Study guides (1)
Additional resources (1)
Practice Questions (7)
A rotating object with a radius of 0.75m experiences a constant force of 15N applied tangentially at its edge for a span of 10 seconds. What is the object's change in angular momentum?
How does torque change as radius is decreased linearly?
A student builds a track for a toy car to go around a curve. If the student halves the velocity of the car, what happens to the radius of the car's path if the acceleration is to remain unchanged?
A student builds a track for a toy car to go around a curve. If the student doubles the velocity of the car, what happens to the acceleration of the car if the radius is to remain unchanged?
A space station is being designed as a ring with a radius of 20m. The ring will be rotated to simulate the force of gravity, so the astronauts will not suffer any of the ill effects of microgravity. How fast should the outer edge of the ring be rotating to accurately simulate the force of gravity on Earth?
An object of mass 5 kg moves at a constant speed of 6 m/s in a circular path of radius 2 m. Find the net force responsible for its motion.
What is the radius of a planet if its gravitational field is 7 m/s^2 and has a mass of 1000 x 10^15 kg
Resources
© 2024 Fiveable Inc. All rights reserved.
AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.