Calculate Total Upward Force Skateboard Mass 65kg, Half Pipe 3m

[Masafi]

skateboard mass = 65kg

he skates down on a half pipe, radius = 3m

If he is traveling at 3.6 m/s when at bottom of ht hallf pipe, what will be the total upward force?

Is this basically the centripetal force + the reaction to the weight?

i.e. centripetal force + mg?

 

[Doc Al]

The phrase 'total upward force' is a bit ambiguous, as is the term 'reaction to the weight'. Presumably you want the upward force that the surface exerts on the skater (usually called the 'normal force', N).

If so, you have the right answer. But a simpler way to understand it is to apply Newton's 2nd law:
ΣF = ma
N - mg = ma_c
Thus: N = ma_c + mg