Question

An object travels with a constant speed in a circular path. The net force on the object is

Answer 1

Answer:

toward the center

Explanation:

Before answering, let's remind the first two Newton Laws:

1) An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object moving at constant velocity tends to continue its motion at constant velocity, unless acted upon a net force

2) An object acted upon a net force F experiences an acceleration a according to the equation

$F=ma$

where m is the mass of the object.

In this problem, we have an object travelling at constant speed in a circular path. The fact that the trajectory of the object is circular means that the direction of motion of the object is constantly changing: this means that its velocity is changing, so it has an acceleration. And therefore, a net force is acting on it. The force that keeps the object travelling in the circular path is called centripetal force, and it is directed towards the center of the circle (because it prevents the object from continuing its motion straight away).

So, the correct answer is

toward the center