---
title: "A small particle travels counterclockwise in a horizontal circle of fixed radius \\(R\\). The particle’s speed \\(v\\) is increasing at a constant non-zero rate \\(\\dfrac{dv}{dt}\\). At the instant the particle passes the rightmost point on the circular path as shown, which of the following diagrams best represents the direction of the particle’s total linear acceleration vector \\(\\vec{a}\\)?"
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/120613/"
date_modified: "2026-08-23T04:41:58+00:00"
---

# A small particle travels counterclockwise in a horizontal circle of fixed radius \(R\). The particle’s speed \(v\) is increasing at a constant non-zero rate \(\dfrac{dv}{dt}\). At the instant the particle passes the rightmost point on the circular path as shown, which of the following diagrams best represents the direction of the particle’s total linear acceleration vector \(\vec{a}\)?

A small particle travels counterclockwise in a horizontal circle of fixed radius \(R\). The particle's speed \(v\) is increasing at a constant non-zero rate \(\dfrac{dv}{dt}\). At the instant the particle passes the rightmost point on the circular path as shown, which of the following diagrams best represents the direction of the particle's total linear acceleration vector \(\vec{a}\)?

![A top-down view of a horizontal circular track shown as a dashed circle centered at the origin C. A small solid circular particle is located at the rightmost point of the circle (3 o'clock position). An arrow tangent to the circle points straight upward from the particle and is labeled with velocity vector v. A curved counterclockwise arrow alongside the track indicates the direction of travel. No other labels, lines, text, or axes appear.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/stem-fig-1-1787460117-wKPkRI.jpg)

- **A.** Vector pointing horizontally to the left toward the center of the circle.
- **B.** Vector pointing vertically upward tangent to the circular path.
- **C.** Vector pointing into the interior of the circle, angled upward and to the left.
- **D.** Vector pointing into the interior of the circle, angled downward and to the left.

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/120613/*