Explain why an object moving around a circle is said to be accelerating when it has no resultant force acting upon it.

If an object has no resultant force acting upon it then it is moving at a constant speed. Acceleration is a vector quantity meaning that it includes magnitude and direction. When it is moving around a circle the direction in which an object is moving is continuously changing; therefore, the object is constantly accelerating.

HO

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

Experimentally, how would you calculate the Young's modulus of a material?


What is Newton's Third Law and what is an example of it?


A transmitter from a researcher's boat sends a signal to the seabed of waves speed 300m/s and it takes 5 seconds for the signal to return back to the boat. Calculate the depth of the sea there.


Explain, using appropriate laws of motion, why the air exerts a force on the engine in the forward direction.