Question

A car travels at a constant speed of 27.6 m/s around a circular track that has a radius of 195 m. What acceleration does it experience?

Answer 1

The centripetal acceleration of an object under circular motion at constant speed v in a trajectory with radius r is:

`a_c=(v^2)/(r)`

Replace v=27.6m/s and r=195m to find the centripetal acceleration of the car:

`a_c=((27.6(m)/(s))^2)/(195m)=3.90646...(m)/(s^2)\approx3.91(m)/(s^2)`

Therefore, the car experiences an acceleration of 3.91 m/s^2.