Arroviewer / Yee Hui Robin Chang ... [et al.]

Centripetal acceleration (acen) is an important quantity in the aspect of rotational motion. This value directly influences the centripetal force, which is the parameter determining the success rate of rotation. Object that rotates with low or insufficient centripetal force tends to skew away from its circulating path. However, students who learn the acen concept for the first time often have difficulty understanding its origin, as the production of acen is different from those of linear acceleration, where the latter is produced by the rate of change in linear velocity. In circular motion, the tangential velocity does not vary. Students will therefore become confused as to how acen is formed since velocities at different points on the circumference remain constant. In this work, a handy tool is developed to assist learners to visualize how the change in direction of a constant tangential velocity is responsible for the generation of acen and subsequently the centripetal force.