Roller coaster friction problem?

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves a roller coaster scenario where a participant must determine the minimum coefficient of friction required to remain in place on a spinning ride after the floor drops away. The context is rooted in rotational motion and frictional forces.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the need to find rotational velocity and its relation to acceleration, as well as how to derive friction from acceleration. There is also a question about the correctness of a calculated coefficient of friction.

Discussion Status

Some participants have confirmed the correctness of initial reasoning regarding the relationship between acceleration and friction. There is ongoing inquiry about the calculation process and the validity of specific numerical results.

Contextual Notes

Participants express feelings of being unprepared for the complexity of the problem relative to classroom instruction. There is an emphasis on the challenge of applying learned concepts to this specific scenario.

bohobelle
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Homework Statement


You're at the amusement park and your friend wants to go on the "Barrel of Fun," where the ride is a cylinder with a vertical axis. You stand against the wall and after the ride is spinning fast enough, the floor drops out beneath you. What is the minimum coefficient of friction necessary to keep you from falling down once the floor is gone? The ride takes two seconds per revolution.


Homework Equations


Moment of intertia of a cylinder = MR^2


The Attempt at a Solution


I honestly have no idea what I'm doing! My teacher tends to teach us one lesson in class and then give us a ridiculously complicated problem that we are not prepared to do for homework.

I think that you need to find rotational velocity and then transform that into acceleration, and then find friction from that, but I am not sure?
 
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Your thinking is correct.
 
voko said:
Your thinking is correct.

How would I get from acceleration to friction?
 
I got 658.69 as the coefficient of friction, does this seem correct?
 
Explain how you got that.
 

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