Answer the following briefly:
A fan is rotating at constant speed. Is it in uniform circular motion? Explain.
Answer:
Yes, a fan rotating at constant speed is an example of .
In this motion, each point on the fan blade moves along a . Even though the fan rotates with , the keeps changing at every instant.
Since velocity depends on both speed and direction, any change in direction results in a change in velocity. Therefore, the fan has changing velocity even when the speed remains the same.
This change in velocity means the fan experiences acceleration, specifically called , which always acts towards the center of the circular path.
Thus, a rotating fan satisfies all conditions of uniform circular motion:
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Motion in a circular path
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Constant speed
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Continuously changing direction of motion
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Presence of centripetal acceleration