Question

The work done by a centripetal force:

• A. increases by decreasing the radius of the circle.
• B. decreases by increasing the radius of the circle.
• C. increases by increasing the mass of the body.
• D. is always zero.

Answer 1

The correct option is D is always zero.

This would mean that the force is always directed perpendicular to the direction that the object is being displaced. The angle Theta in the above equation is 90 degrees and the cosine of 90 degrees is 0. Thus, the work done by the centripetal force in the case of uniform circular motion is 0 Joules.