Question

An athlete prepares to throw a 2.0-kilogram discus. His arm is 0.75 meters long. He spins around several times with the discus at the end of his out-stretched arm so that the discus reaches a velocity of 5.0 m/s. What is the centripetal force acting on the discus?

Answer 1

The centripetal force acting on ball will be = mass x radial acceleration
radial acceleration = v²/radius of the discuss performing circular motion
= 5²/0.75 = 33.33 m/s²

Therefore, centripetal force = mass x radial acceleration = 2 x 33.33
= 66.66 N.