Question 77 of 108
Q.Distinguish between centripetal and centrifugal force.
Maharashtra MsbshseMaharashtra HSC (MSBSHSE) Board 2018Subjective· 2mImportance★★★★★
71% · 77/108 Questions
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Centripetal force is real and acts in the inertial (lab) frame; centrifugal force is fictitious, invoked only to apply Newton's laws in the rotating frame.
| Centripetal force | Centrifugal force |
|---|---|
| A real force, provided by an actual physical agent (tension, gravity, normal reaction, friction, etc.) | A pseudo (fictitious) force — has no real physical agent providing it |
| Acts toward the centre of the circular path | Acts away from the centre of the circular path |
| Observed and needed in an inertial (non-rotating) frame of reference to explain circular motion via Newton's second law | Appears only in a non-inertial, rotating frame of reference, to allow Newton's laws to be applied formally in that frame |
| Its magnitude is , and it is the net real force causing the centripetal acceleration | Its magnitude is also , but it exactly balances the centripetal force in the rotating frame so the body appears in equilibrium there |
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