<u>The following statements are true about centripetal force
:</u>
- Without centripetal force, an object would continue in a straight
- line.
- Gravity can be a centripetal force, such as when it pulls a thrown
- baseball down to the ground.
- Friction can be a centripetal force, such as when it keeps a car on the road going around a curve.
Answer: Option A, C, and D
<u>Explanation:
</u>
Centripetal Force & Examples-
Centripetal force can be defined as the component of force that acts on an object in a curvilinear motion, directed towards the centre of axis of the circular path. This is the force responsible to pull an object in an inward direction and balance the pace on the path.
In the absence of the centripetal force, an object will either move in the direction of motion or on a straight path instead of moving inwards. It's also called as an "inward Force" as it tends to move the object towards the centre of the curved path.
As an example, a car moving on a circular road accelerates due to its constant change in direction since it's moving on a circular path. Now, the frictional force comes into picture that contributes its component as a centripetal force, pulling it towards the centre of the axis of the circular path.
Hence we can say that when a car turns on a circular path, friction force acts a centripetal force to maintain its motion and direction on the path. Talking about a baseball which is attracted by the gravitational force of the Earth and hence falls on the ground is clearly not the case of centripetal force as the path may not be circular every time and there is not axis of rotation.
Besides centripetal force, there is another force that acts on an object moving on a circular path but not in the inward direction. It is instead, equal and opposite of the centripetal force that draws the object away from the circular path of motion. Hence, it's called the "Outward force".
