# Coriolis force on a race car

1. Oct 18, 2016

### OmegaKV

1. The problem statement, all variables and given/known data

Find the magnitude and direction of the Coriolis force on a racing car of mass 10 metric tons travelling due south at a speed of 400km/hr at a lattitude of 45 degrees north.

2. Relevant equations

$$F_{cor}=-2m\omega\times v$$

3. The attempt at a solution

$$\omega=2\pi/(24*3600 \quad seconds)$$
$$v=400km/hr=400/3600 \quad km/second$$
$$m=10000$$
$$-2 m\omega\times v=-2m\omega v sin(45) \quad Newtons \quad east = -114.27 \quad Newtons \quad east = 114.27 \quad Newtons \quad west$$

The answer in the back of my book says "41 nt west"

Last edited: Oct 18, 2016
2. Oct 18, 2016

### jbriggs444

v = 400 km/hour according to the problem statement.
I do not see you account for the mass of the race car.
Math not checked.

3. Oct 18, 2016

### OmegaKV

Updated my post to fix those mistakes. I mistyped 800km/hr in my post but I used 400km/hr in my calculation. Taking mass into account my answer is scaled by a factor of 10000, so it's still different from the answer in the back of the book.

4. Oct 18, 2016

### jbriggs444

My result matches yours. Note that the race car mass is only given to two significant figures. Our result should be reported as 110 N (or 1.1x102N)