An object that moves in a circle with constant speed (like driving your car in a big circle at 30 mph) is called uniform circular motion. Although the speed is constant (30 mph), the velocity, which is a vector and made up of speed and direction, is not constant. The velocity vector has the same speed (magnitude), but the direction keeps changing as your car moves around the circle. The direction is an arrow that’s tangent to the circle as long as the car is moving on a circular path. This means that the tangent arrow is constantly changing and pointing in a new direction.


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