Magnitude of Acceleration on Merry-Go-Round

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating the magnitude of acceleration for a child on a merry-go-round with a diameter of 2.1 meters, which accelerates to a speed of 1.7 rotations per second over 25 seconds. The angular velocity is calculated as 10.68 rad/s, leading to an angular acceleration of 0.427 rad/s². A critical error identified is the misuse of diameter instead of radius in the acceleration formula, which resulted in an incorrect calculation of 240 m/s². The correct radius to use is 1.05 meters, which is half of the diameter.

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Homework Statement


At a playground you let your kid sister (30 kg) kneel on the surface (near the edge) of a 2.1 meter diameter merry-go-round. You push the merry-go-round so that it constantly accelerates from rest to a final speed of 1.7 rotations per second at the end of a 25 second interval. (please complete all questions using radians)
After it comes up to speed, you stop pushing and the merry-go-round continues to run at a constant rate of 1.7 rotations per second. What is the magnitude of your sister's acceleration, if any?

Homework Equations


V is the tangental velocity in m/s
r is radius of circle in meters
ω is angular velocity in radians/sec
a is in m/s²
[/B]
1.7 rotations per second x 2π rad/rev = 10.68 rad/s
ang. acc. = Δω/Δt = 10.68/25 = 0.427 rad/s²
134 rad x 1 rev/2πrad = 21.25 rev

The Attempt at a Solution


I got the first part of the question right, but I have no idea what I am doing wrong for the last part shown above. This is what I did:

a = rω² = (2.1)(10.68)² = 240 m/s²
[/B]
 
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Diameter =/= radius!
 
in the first place, 2.1 meters is the diameter, and you have to use the radius. In the second place, as far as I can see there is only one question.
 
The book claims the answer is that all the magnitudes are the same because "the gravitational force on the penguin is the same". I'm having trouble understanding this. I thought the buoyant force was equal to the weight of the fluid displaced. Weight depends on mass which depends on density. Therefore, due to the differing densities the buoyant force will be different in each case? Is this incorrect?

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