This is a theoretical applet that does not involve any physical assumptions. However, some notation and terminology, some of which may be unconventional, is explained below.

• v(0)-slider. The quantity v whose initial value at time t = 0 can be set with this slider is called "circle velocity" in the documentation. v(t) is a scalar quantity equal to the speed of the mass point at time t except for a possible minus sign. The quantity is negative if the motion of the mass point is in the clockwise sense (negative sense of revolution) and positive if in the counter-clockwise sense (positive sense of revolution).

  The absolute value of the circle velocity v is equal to the particle's speed.

• dv/dt(0)-slider. The quantity dv/dt whose initial value at time t = 0 can be set with this slider is the time-rate-of-change of the "circle velocity". dv/dt(t) can take on both positive and negative values, positive if v is increasing at time t and negative if v is decreasing.

  The absolute value of dv/dt is equal to the absolute value of the tangential component of the mass point's acceleration and denoted a_tan in the applet.

• w(0)-slider. The quantity w (Greek letter; read: omega) whose initial value at time t = 0 can be set with this slider is the angular velocity of the mass point. w(t) can take on both positive and negative values, positive for counter-clockwise motion (positive sense of revolution) and negative for clockwise motion (negative sense of revolution).
• a(0)-slider. The quantity a (Greek letter; read: alpha) whose initial value at time t = 0 can be set with this slider is called angular acceleration. It is equal to the time-rate-of-change of the angular velocity, a = dw/dt. a(t) can take on both positive and negative values, positive if w is increasing at time t and negative if w is decreasing.