Circular motion — the acceleration is not constant?

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SUMMARY

An object moving at constant speed in a circular path does not maintain constant velocity due to continuous directional change, thus invalidating option (a). The acceleration, known as centripetal acceleration, is not constant in the sense of magnitude but is always directed towards the center of the circular path. Consequently, the net force acting on the object cannot be zero, contradicting option (c). Therefore, none of the provided statements about the motion are correct.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of uniform circular motion (UCM)
  • Knowledge of centripetal acceleration
  • Familiarity with Newton's laws of motion
  • Basic concepts of force and velocity
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  • Learn about the mathematical formulation of centripetal acceleration
  • Explore the differences between speed and velocity in physics
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JessicaHelena
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Homework Statement


An object moves at constant speed in a circular path. True statements about the motion include which of the following?

a) the velocity is constant
b) the acceleration is constant
c) the net force on the obj is 0 since its speed is constant

Homework Equations


hm none, really?

The Attempt at a Solution


the v is certainly not constant bc even if it's a UCM, direction is always changing.
There must be a centripetal force, so the net force cannot be 0.
I had rather confidently chosen that b) is the only true statement, but apparently none of them is supposed to be correct. Why is this so?
 
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Why do you think that (b) is correct?
 

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