Question

Swinging a Water Bucket Overhead

General Instructions:Take a sturdy water bucket (can be replace by plastic cup or anything that you have in your house) ½ full of water and swing it in a circle over your head. Try the following situations:

-you swing it quickly

-you swing it slowly

-you swing and stop it when it is directly overhead

1.What happened when you swing it quickly?

1.1Explain your observations using the concepts and math equations of UCM.

Answer 1

1. The water does not leave the bucket.

The centripetal acceleration creates a force that "pushes" the water toward the bottom of the bucket, or

$$mg=mv^2/r.$$