Question

During uniform circular motion, which of the following is true?

A. No work is done
B. The centripetal force does work
C. The velocity does work
D. Potential energy depends on the position of the object around the circle.

Answer 1

During uniform circular motion, no work is done by the centripetal force because it is perpendicular to the object's velocity and only changes the direction of motion, not the speed or kinetic energy.

Step-by-step explanation:

During uniform circular motion, the correct statement is A. No work is done by the centripetal force. This is because the centripetal force is always directed towards the center of the circular path and is perpendicular to the velocity of the object in motion, thus it does not change the kinetic energy of the object. Similarly, in cases such as when a charged particle moves perpendicular to a uniform magnetic field, the magnetic force acts as the centripetal force and does not change the particle's speed; it only changes the direction of motion.

The velocity itself does not do work on the object; instead, it represents the motion due to the existing forces. Moreover, potential energy in uniform circular motion is typically not dependent on the object's position around the circle unless there's a specific field causing a potential energy gradient, which is not the case in typical scenarios of uniform circular motion. Hence, the other options B, C, and D are not correct for uniform circular motion.