A particle travels in a spiral path with constant speed, as shown in the figure.

Step-by-step solution

For a particle moving with a constant speed v , the tangential acceleration is zero ( a_t = dv dt = 0 ). The only acceleration acting on the particle is the normal (centripetal) acceleration, which is responsible for changing the direction of motion. The magnitude of this acceleration is given by: a = a_n = v^2 R where R is the radius of curvature of the path. From the given figure, as the particle moves along the spiral path in the direction indicated by the arrow, it moves from the inner, tighter loops to the out