Fiveable
Fiveable

Centripetal Force

Definition

Centripetal force is a force that acts towards the center of a circular path and keeps an object moving in a curved trajectory.

Analogy

Imagine swinging a yo-yo around your hand using a string. The tension in the string pulling towards your hand represents centripetal force, keeping the yo-yo moving in a circular path instead of flying off tangentially.

Related terms

Centrifugal Force: Centrifugal force is often misunderstood as an actual force but it's actually just inertia causing objects to move away from the center when they are rotating.

Circular Motion: Circular motion refers to any motion along a circular path and involves constantly changing direction without changing speed.

Tangential Velocity: Tangential velocity is the linear velocity at any point on a circular path tangent to that point. It determines how fast an object moves along its circular trajectory.

collegeable - rocket pep

Are you a college student?

  • Study guides for the entire semester

  • 200k practice questions

  • Glossary of 50k key terms - memorize important vocab



© 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.


© 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.