Which statement best describes the direction of velocity in uniform circular motion?
It is always tangent to the circle at any point
In uniform circular motion the speed of the body stays constant but its direction of motion keeps changing. At every instant the velocity vector points along the direction the body is actually moving, and since the body is following the circle, this direction is along the tangent to the circle at that point.
The velocity is not along the radius outward or inward, because motion along the radius would mean the body was moving away from or towards the centre, not going round the circle. The acceleration in uniform circular motion is directed towards the centre (centripetal), but the velocity is not. Nor is the velocity perpendicular to the plane of the circle — that would take the body out of the plane.
Hence, the answer is It is always tangent to the circle at any point.
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