How many revolutions will the car go through?

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves a car starting from rest on a curve with a radius of 190m, accelerating at 0.800 m/s², and seeks to determine how many revolutions the car will complete when its total acceleration reaches 2.60 m/s².

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the calculation of total acceleration and its components, questioning which values to use for acceleration in their equations. There are attempts to derive time and distance traveled, with varying results leading to confusion about the correct approach.

Discussion Status

Several participants are exploring different methods to calculate the time and distance, with some providing alternative equations and values. There is a mix of interpretations regarding the calculations, and while some guidance has been offered, no consensus has been reached on the correct approach or final answer.

Contextual Notes

Participants have noted issues with unit representation and rounding errors in their calculations. The problem's complexity and the need for precise values in the equations are acknowledged as potential sources of confusion.

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Homework Statement


A car starts from rest on a curve with a radius of 190m and accelerates at 0.800 m/s^2 . How many revolutions will the car have gone through when the magnitude of its total acceleration is 2.60 m/s^2 ?

Homework Equations


The Attempt at a Solution



I have tired the magnitude of acceleration = sqrt ((at^2/r^2) +a^2)
so then I said 2.6 =.8t^2/190^2 + .8^2 So I got 297 seconds for the time.
Then I plugged time into x=1/2at^2 but this is where I am not sure. Which acceleration should I be plugging into that equation. I have tried a=2.6 a=.8 and a=a/r =.004 and none of those are giving me a correct answer.

I have been dividing my answer by 2pi to get the answer in revolutions but the stupid online thing keeps saying try again and I am not sure what I am doing wrong. I appreciate any help! Thanks!
 
Last edited:
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Units! Where are your units?
 
SammyS said:
Units! Where are your units?

Sorry about that. I just copy pasted so I am not sure why the units didn't show up but I edited it so there should now be units.
 
kerbyjonsonjr said:

Homework Statement


A car starts from rest on a curve with a radius of 190m and accelerates at 0.800 m/s2 . How many revolutions will the car have gone through when the magnitude of its total acceleration is 2.60 m/s2 ?

Homework Equations


The Attempt at a Solution



I have tired the magnitude of acceleration = sqrt ((at^2/r^2) +a^2)
so then I said 2.6 =.8t^2/190^2 + .8^2 So I got 297 seconds for the time.
Then I plugged time into x=1/2at^2 but this is where I am not sure. Which acceleration should I be plugging into that equation. I have tried a=2.6 a=.8 and a=a/r =.004 and none of those are giving me a correct answer.

I have been dividing my answer by 2pi to get the answer in revolutions but the stupid online thing keeps saying try again and I am not sure what I am doing wrong. I appreciate any help! Thanks!

Square of the magnitude of the acceleration: |a|2 = at2 + ac2, where at is the tangential component of acceleration and ac is the centripetal acceleration (aka, the normal component).

For your problem, at = 0.800 m/s2.

For an object traveling in a circle of radius R and speed v (v being the magnitude of the velocity), ac is given by:

[tex]a_c=\frac{v^2}{R}[/tex].

What must v be for |a|2 to be: (2.60 m/s2)2 ?
 
Centripetal acceleration also equals r*w^2 so you can find w (angular velocity), tangential acceleration=r*alpha so you can find (alpha) angular acceleration. Then use rotational motion equations to find theta (angle of rotation).
 
SammyS said:
Square of the magnitude of the acceleration: |a|2 = at2 + ac2, where at is the tangential component of acceleration and ac is the centripetal acceleration (aka, the normal component).

For your problem, at = 0.800 m/s2.

For an object traveling in a circle of radius R and speed v (v being the magnitude of the velocity), ac is given by:

[tex]a_c=\frac{v^2}{R}[/tex].

What must v be for |a|2 to be: (2.60 m/s2)2 ?

I used the equation Vf = V0 + at so, v=at and then I plugged that into |a|2 = at2 + ac2 then I solved for t again and this time I got 587 seconds. I don't know if I am getting closer to the answer or further away.
 
w^2 (final)=w^2(initial)+2*angular acceleration*theta, w^2(initial)=0 since the car starts at rest. You can calculate angular velocity and angular acceleration (see previous post) so you can find angle of rotation (theta). I get theta to be about .27 Revolutions.
 
kerbyjonsonjr said:

Homework Statement


A car starts from rest on a curve with a radius of 190m and accelerates at 0.800 m/s^2 . How many revolutions will the car have gone through when the magnitude of its total acceleration is 2.60 m/s^2 ?

The Attempt at a Solution



I have tired the magnitude of acceleration = sqrt ((((at)^2/r)^2) +a^2)
so then I said 2.6^2 =(.8t^2/190)^2 + .8^2 So I got 297 seconds for the time.
I inserted some parentheses and exponents. Is this the computation you really made?
 
SammyS said:
I inserted some parentheses and exponents. Is this the computation you really made?

You are right! I redid it out and got t=24.24 Is that the answer you got for time?
 
  • #10
I got 27.something seconds.

If t=24.24 then, v=.8×(24.24)≈19.9 m/s

Then, ac = v2/R ≈ 1.98 m/s2.

Need ac=√(a2-at2) ≈ 2.5 m/s2.
 
  • #11
SammyS said:
I got 27.something seconds.

If t=24.24 then, v=.8×(24.24)≈19.9 m/s

Then, ac = v2/R ≈ 1.98 m/s2.

Need ac=√(a2-at2) ≈ 2.5 m/s2.

OK I think 27.8 seems to be right. Then would I use x=1/2at2? What value of a should I use? Should I use alpha= a/r =.8/190 =.004? Then have 1/2*.004*27.82 =1.627/2pi = . 2589 revolutions?
 
  • #12
According to this thing the answer is .245 rev. I guess .2589 isn't close enough. IT'S BOGUS
 
  • #13
kerbyjonsonjr said:
OK I think 27.8 seems to be right. Then would I use x=1/2at2? What value of a should I use? Should I use alpha= a/r =.8/190 =.004? Then have 1/2*.004*27.82 =1.627/2pi = . 2589 revolutions?
That's a lot of round off: α = a/r =.8/190 =.004 Use 0.00421 and see what you get.

Oh! I see that you actually did use the result without the round-off.

Using the very rounded-off value of .004 rad/s2, I get very close to that BOGUS answer. (0.246 rev.)
 

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