Dynamics Dungeon: Swing the Bucket

weightstring tension

Speed at the bottom (m/s)

String length R (m)

PREDICT

How this connects to AP Physics 1 (Topic 2.9, Circular Motion): at the top of the circle, the string tension and gravity both point toward the center: T + mg = mv²/R. The water just stays in when T = 0, giving v_top = √(gR). Energy conservation connects the speed at the bottom to the speed at the top.