Question

Compare the magnitudes of centripetal force and centrifugal force.

Answer 1

Hint The centripetal force and centrifugal force are the action-reaction force pair that are involved in every circular motion. From Newton's first law of motion, a moving body travels along a straight path with constant speed, unless it is acted on by an external unbalanced force.

Complete Step-by-step solution
The centripetal (center-seeking) force is a constant force (in terms of magnitude) acting on a body pushing it towards the center of the circular path.
From Newton's third law of motion, we know that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The centripetal force is the action force which is balanced by a reaction force which is the centrifugal (center-fleeing) force.
These two forces are always equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. The centrifugal force does not act on the body moving in a circular motion, the force that is acting on the body in motion is the centripetal force.
The centrifugal force acts on the center point of the circular motion to displace it radially from the center of the circular path. Therefore in twirling a mass using a string, the centripetal force transmitted by the string pulls in on the mass to maintain its circular path, while the centrifugal force is transmitted by the string acting in an outward direction on its point of attachment at the center of the path.

Note
The centrifugal force is often incorrectly thought to cause a body to fly out of its circular path when it is released but in reality, the removal of the centripetal force that allows the body to travel in a straight line which is in acceptance with Newton's first law of motion.