Question

A child is playing with his toy car of mass 0.25 kg in his home yard. The toy car moves in a circular path with a radius of 2.0−m. The car revolves around the circle's circumference 25 times in 10.0 s. Find the centripetal force.

Answer 1

To calculate the centripetal force, determine the car's speed by using the circumference of the circular path to find total distance covered, then use the centripetal force formula.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question requires calculating the centripetal force acting on a toy car of mass 0.25 kg moving in a circular path with a radius of 2.0 m. The car completes 25 revolutions in 10.0 s. To find the centripetal force Fc, we must first calculate the velocity of the car and then use the centripetal force formula Fc = mv2/r.

1. Calculate the speed of the car by finding the distance travelled in one revolution (circumference of the circle = 2πr) and then the total distance for 25 revolutions. Then, divide by the time (10 s) to get the speed (v).
2. Use the centripetal force formula with the calculated speed and given mass (m) and radius (r).