A 0.20 kg mass is whirled round in a vertical circle on the end of a light string of length 0.90 m. At the top point of the circle the speed of the mass is 8.2 m/s. What is the tension in the string at this point?

A diagram would be very beneficial for this problem. We can draw a free body force diagram of the mass. At the top of the circle the two forces acting on it are its weight and tension from the string. Both are acting vertically downwards.
This problem is an example of circular motion, so the equation to use will be:
F = (mv2) / r
where F is the centripetal force (acting towards the centre of the circle), m is mass, v is velocity and r is radius
Therefore we can calculate what the centripetal force will be:
F = (0.2
8.22) / 0.9
F = 14.94222...N
As we said earlier, there are two forces acting on the mass towards the centre of the circle: its weight and the tension. We can calculate the weight from the body's mass using W = mg
W = 0.2
9.81
Then F = weight + tension
tension = F - weight
tension = 14.942 - 0.2*9.81
tension = 13.0N

TC
Answered by Thomas C. Physics tutor

50150 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

Uranium -238 has a half life of 4.5 billion years. How long will it take a 2g sample of U-238 to contain just 0.4g of U-238?


From the 2016 OCR B paper A ball is thrown at an angle of 30 Degrees to the horizontal. The initial kinetic energy of the ball is K. Air resistance is negligible. What is the kinetic energy of the ball at the maximum height.


What is Newtons third law of motion?


How does light from distant stars show how fast they are moving away from us.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning