Physics › Section D · Circular motion and gravitation › Topic D.1
Rotation angle, angular velocity, and centripetal acceleration
Wheels, roundabouts, centrifuges and planets all go round in circles. To describe that motion you need angles in radians, a rate of turning, and the surprising fact that anything moving in a circle is always accelerating towards the centre.
In this topic
- Going round in circles
- Rotation angle in radians
- Angular velocity
- Linking turning to moving
- Worked example: a bicycle wheel
- Why the acceleration points inwards
- How big is centripetal acceleration?
- Worked example: a playground roundabout
- Worked example: a laboratory centrifuge
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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