Final answer:
Tangential acceleration can indeed change the speed of a particle in circular motion by affecting the magnitude of the velocity without altering its direction.
Step-by-step explanation:
Yes, tangential acceleration can change the speed of a particle undergoing circular motion. While centripetal acceleration is responsible for changing the direction of velocity, keeping the object moving along a circular path, tangential acceleration changes the magnitude of the velocity but not its direction. This means that when an object experiences tangential acceleration, its speed either increases or decreases depending on whether the acceleration is in the same direction as the motion or opposite to it. For instance, when a spinning plate in a microwave starts to spin faster, the piece of food at the edge experiences tangential acceleration as its speed increases, along with centripetal acceleration that maintains its circular path.