- #1
nick76342
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Homework Statement
This is a conceptual issue which I am trying to understand:
When you are describing a vehicle traveling on a banked curve, force parallel (the force which is found to be parallel to the surface of the road pointing down the bank) is omitted from the FBD and the equations that follow. Yet, force perpendicular still exists. I am not sure why force parallel is omitted since gravity is still acting on the car and should apply some force pulling the car down the hill. I can see where the velocity of the vehicle as it travels along the curve would counter this force, yet I do not understand why force parallel would not be included. In a standard incline plane problem, force parallel dictates an object's motion down the incline. Shouldn't the same apply to a banked curve regardless of the speed of the car, or whether friction is acting on the car?\
Any help would be much appreciated.
Homework Equations
a = v^2 /r
The Attempt at a Solution
Perhaps force parallel is somehow already included in the centripetal force?