Question

A 2 kg ball attached to a frictionless surface is being spun in a circle of radius 0.5 meters. The string will break when the tension in the string exceeds 16N. How fast can the ball be spinning before the string will break?

Answer 1

m = mass of the ball attached to friction less surface = 2 kg

r = radius of the circle in which the ball moves = 0.5 meter

T = tension force in the string = 16 N

F = centripetal force

centripetal force is given as

F = m v²/r

the centripetal force required to move in circle is being provided by the tension force here , hence we can write

T = F

T = m v²/r

Tr = m v²

v² = Tr/m

v = √(Tr/m)

inserting the values in the equation above

v = √(16 (0.5)/2)

v = 2 m/s