Radial and Tangential Acceleration

In summary, a train traveling at an unknown initial speed slows down at a constant rate while rounding a sharp circular horizontal turn with a radius of 0.184 km. It takes 17.7 seconds to slow down from 68 km/h to 26 km/h. To find the tangential component of acceleration, the average acceleration is found by subtracting the final velocity from the initial velocity and dividing by the time. However, this is not the same as the derivative of velocity at that moment. To find the total acceleration at the moment the train's speed is 59 km/h, the quadrature of radial acceleration and tangential acceleration is used. This involves squaring the tangential acceleration and dividing it by the radius, then adding
  • #1
niyati
63
0
A train slows down at a constant rate as it rounds a sharp circular horizontal turn. Its initial speed is not known. It takes 17.7 s to slow down from 68 km/h to 26 km/h. The radius of the curve is .184 km. As the train goes around the turn, (a) what is the magnitude to the tangential component of the acceleration and (b) at the moment the train's speed is 59 km/h, what is the magnitude of the total acceleration? Answer in units of m/s^2.

(a) Tangential acceleration is given by dlvl/dt. However, I am finding the average acceleration by subtracting 68 from 26, and then dividing it by 17.7 seconds. The negative sign would disappear. However, tangential acceleration is the derivative of velocity at that moment, not the average acceleration over a period of time. D:

(b) Total acceleration is the quadrature of radial acceleration and tangential acceleration. I suppose I could square my answer in (a), and then compute a[r] by squaring 59 and dividing it by .184 (and then tacking on the negative sign). Once I have a[r] and a[t], I will square them both, add them, and then take the square root. But, could I use the different part derived from different velocities (tangential acc. deals with a range of velocities, while radial acc. has the one given in the problem)?

I know, also, that I must convert everything to meters, but I will do that last.
 
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  • #2
I think they want you to assume tangential acceleration is constant over the turn...

everything looks good.
 
  • #3
Wow.

Thanks. (Yay for getting better at this. Even if it's just plugging in numbers.)
 

1. What is radial acceleration?

Radial acceleration is the acceleration of an object moving along a circular path. It is directed towards the center of the circle and is responsible for continuously changing the direction of the object's velocity.

2. How is radial acceleration calculated?

Radial acceleration can be calculated using the equation ar = v2/r, where v is the speed of the object and r is the radius of the circular path.

3. What is tangential acceleration?

Tangential acceleration is the acceleration of an object moving along a circular path that is perpendicular to the radial acceleration. It is responsible for changing the magnitude of the object's velocity.

4. How is tangential acceleration calculated?

Tangential acceleration can be calculated using the equation at = dv/dt, where v is the speed of the object and t is time.

5. How are radial and tangential acceleration related?

Radial and tangential acceleration are related by the Pythagorean theorem, which states that the magnitude of the total acceleration is equal to the square root of the sum of the squares of the radial and tangential acceleration.

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