Circular motion


These resources include Tim’s on-orbit demonstrations of a ball on a tether and a ball in a circular track undergoing circular motion in various planes and the simple harmonic nature of displacement reduced to a single plane. Combined with the Earth based demonstrations of a cup of water travelling in a circle attached to a tether, and a loop the loop track, in-depth analysis of centripetal forces can take place.

Each package contains: Video demonstration, Tracker visualisation and Tracker data files. Download our brief explanation of each video here.

Circular motion

Ball on tether released – horizontal plane

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Ball on tether released – vertical plane

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Vertical ball in hoop – Tim holding

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Horizontal ball in hoop – Tim holding

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Vertical ball in hoop – clamped

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2 balls in circular track air resistance


Extra: Ball on tether – Tim hits the camera


How are you using Astro Academy: Principia?

#TeachPrincipia

The following guides may be useful for understanding how to get the most out of Astro Academy: Principia:

Astro Academy: Principia Programme Overview
Tracker Guide – An introduction to using Tracker software for analysis of video clips
Further Activities – Further teaching activities including films, guides and online resources relating to Astro Academy: Principia topics

You can also find the video clips on Youtube, and more information about the National Space Academy here.