Why is centripetal acceleration oriented towards the center?

Centripetal”, of course, means toward the center. So let's get that obvious part of the answer out of the way. read more

That is, the acceleration is centripetal - or towards the center of curvature of the motion. read more

It acts toward the center of the circle, just like centripetal acceleration does. In fact, the word"centripetal" means,"center-seeking." Centripetal force is that which keeps the object in a circular path rather than flying of at a tangent straight line. read more

why does centripetal acceleration act toward the center while actual centripetal force act the opposite direction which is away from away from the center. read more

We call the acceleration of an object moving in uniform circular motion—resulting from a net external force—the centripetal acceleration a c a_c a c a, start subscript, c, end subscript; centripetal means “toward the center” or “center seeking”. read more