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Topic Circular motion
Asked 9 times across 3 UPSC exams over 10 years (2015–2025), peaking in 2021.
Key insights
- Most tested in CDS — 4 of 9 PYQs
- Most asked in 2021
- Recurs across 6 years (2015–2025)
How it travelled across exams
First appearance in each exam — the same idea, reframed.
CDS 2015 → NDA 2021 → GEO 2024
How the concept evolved
Rising — more than half its appearances (8 of 9) are since 2016.
Related concepts
Ideas UPSC tests alongside this one — keep exploring.
Sample questions
You've seen the pattern — here are a few of the actual PYQs.
GEO2025
A particle moves in a circle of radius 0·2 m. Its linear speed is given by v = 2t, where t is in seconds and v is in m/s. The ratio of tangential to radial accelerations at t = 3 seconds would be
- A 1 : 1
- B 1 : 90 ✓
- C 1 : 9
- D 1 : 10
✓ Correct answer: (B)
Science & Technology › Physics & Chemistry
GEO2025
Which one of the following statements is not true?
- A The centripetal acceleration is always directed towards the centre.
- B The motion of an object is called uniform circular motion if the object follows a circular path at a constant speed.
- C The velocity vector of a particle at a point is always along the tangent to the path of the particle at that point.
- D The net acceleration of a particle in circular motion is always along the radius of the circle towards the centre. ✓
✓ Correct answer: (D)
Science & Technology › Physics & Chemistry
GEO2024
A particle moves in a circle of radius 4 m. Its linear speed is given by 4√3 t, where t is the time measured in seconds. At t = 1 s, the angle made by the resultant acceleration − r̂ with direction (+ r̂ is the radial direction) is given by φ. Which one among the following is the correct value of φ ?
- A tan^-1 (1/√3) ✓
- B tan^-1 (1/√2)
- C tan^-1 (2/√3)
- D tan^-1 (√3)
✓ Correct answer: (A)
Science & Technology › Physics & Chemistry
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