Centripetal Acceleration Problem

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a physics problem involving centripetal acceleration, specifically assessing whether a car can safely navigate a curve based on given parameters such as mass, speed, radius of the curve, and coefficient of friction.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the application of Newton's laws and the forces acting on the car, including friction and centripetal force. There is an emphasis on drawing free-body diagrams and analyzing forces in both x and y directions.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging with the problem, sharing their attempts to set up the equations of motion and discussing the relationships between the forces involved. Some guidance has been offered regarding the maximum frictional force and the expression for centripetal acceleration.

Contextual Notes

There are indications of uncertainty about the next steps in the problem-solving process, particularly regarding the application of the equations derived from the free-body diagram.

Macroer
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Homework Statement



A 1000 kg car is traveling along a flat section of the highway at a speed of 90.0 km/h. The driver notices a
curve in the road ahead, with a radius of 150 m.
a) If the pavement is dry and the coefficient of friction between the car tires and the road is 0.820,
determine if the car can safely navigate the curve. (4 pts.) (Hint, use centripetal force, normal force and frictional force to
see if it is possible to overcome the centripetal force with the frictional force.)

Homework Equations


[tex]F_{f}[/tex]=[tex]ma_{c}[/tex]

The Attempt at a Solution


[tex]F_{f}[/tex]=[tex]ma_{c}[/tex]
umg=ma
(don't know where to go from there)
 
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Start by drawing a free-body diagram and writing out Newton's second law for both the x and y directions.
 
I uploaded the FBD


X direction:
Ff = ma

Y direction
Fnet=0;
Fg=Fn
Fn=mg
 

Attachments

  • FBD.JPG
    FBD.JPG
    2.9 KB · Views: 418
Good. For the x direction, the maximum possible value of Ff is N*mu, and a=v^2/r (the centripetal acceleration).
 

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