Circular Motion | OCR A-Level Physics A (H556)

Circular Motion

  • 28 questions
  • 2 subtopics
  • Module 5: Newtonian world and astrophysics
  • Paper 1 and Paper 3

Motion in a circle: measuring angle in radians, angular velocity, and why a body moving at constant speed round a circle is nonetheless accelerating..

It covers radians, angular velocity and period and centripetal force and acceleration.

Sample questions from Circular Motion

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

  1. Radians, angular velocity and period

    State the equation that relates period T and frequency f.

    Show the answer
    T = 1/f
  2. Radians, angular velocity and period

    State the equation that relates angular velocity ω to frequency f.

    Show the answer
    ω = 2πf
  3. Centripetal force and acceleration

    State the equation for centripetal acceleration using angular velocity ω and radius r.

    Show the answer
    a = ω²r
  4. Centripetal force and acceleration

    State the equation for centripetal force using mass m, angular velocity ω, and radius r.

    Show the answer
    F = mω²r

The 2 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic What it covers Questions
Radians, angular velocity and period Recall questions on the radian, the period and frequency of circular motion, angular velocity and its relationships to period, frequency and linear speed, with calculations. 13
Centripetal force and acceleration Recall questions on why a perpendicular force causes circular motion, centripetal acceleration and centripetal force in terms of speed and angular velocity with calculations, and the whirling bung experiment. 15
Circular Motion is 28 of the 1,862 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £8

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

  1. Step 1 · Closed book

    Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.

  2. Step 2 · Open book

    Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.

  3. Step 3 · Closed book again

    Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.

Nearby topics

All 25 topics Guide overview

OCR A-Level Physics A Active Recall Guide

Every topic, not just this one. 1,862 questions with their answers.

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