Centripetal force is the required inward component of net force for circular motion.
Difficulty
Beginner
Read time
5 min
Prerequisites
Basic algebra and consistent SI units
Source
OpenStax, College Physics 2e, §6.3 (Paul Peter Urone and Roger Hinrichs)Textbook reference retained from the OpenFormulaGraph dataset; adaptation credits and license are provided below.
Adapted from OpenFormulaGraph, under CC BY 4.0.
FormuLab adapted the notation, explanations, assumptions, and topic placement, and expanded the numerical check into a worked example.
Centripetal force is the required inward component of net force for circular motion. It may be supplied by tension, friction, gravity, or several forces together; it is not an extra force to add to a force diagram.
| Symbol | Meaning | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Inward radial net-force magnitude | ||
| Mass | ||
| Speed | ||
| Circle radius |
Find the radial force needed to follow a curve.
Estimate the inward force on a rotating load.
A 2.00 kg object moves at 4.00 m/s on a circle of radius 2.00 m. Find the inward radial net force.
Textbook reference retained from the OpenFormulaGraph dataset; adaptation credits and license are provided below.
Adapted from OpenFormulaGraph, under CC BY 4.0.
FormuLab adapted the notation, explanations, assumptions, and topic placement, and expanded the numerical check into a worked example.
Assumptions
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