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a car with a mass of 1200 kilograms is moving around a circular curve at a uniform velocity of 20 meters per second. the centripetal force on the car is 6000 newtons. what is the radius of the curve?

User Headuck
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1 Answer

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Well, first of all, a car moving around a circular curve is not moving
with uniform velocity. The direction of motion is part of velocity, and
the direction is constantly changing on a curve.

The centripetal force that keeps an object moving in a circle is

Force = (mass of the object) · (speed)² / (radius of the circle)

F = m s² / r

We want to know the radius, to rearrange the formula to give us
the radius as a function of everything else.

F = m s² / r

Multiply each side by 'r': F· r = m · s²

Divide each side by 'F': r = m · s² / F

We know all the numbers on the right side,
so we can pluggum in:

r = m · s² / F

r = (1200 kg) · (20 m/s)² / (6000 N) .

I'm pretty sure you can finish it up from here.




User DpEN
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