Question

Two physics students are sitting on a spinning merry-go-round. One student measures the time it takes the merry-go-round to make a full rotation, and shows that the time to make a rotation is remaining constant. He remarks that his acceleration is zero because his speed is remaining constant. Is the student correct or incorrect, and why?

Option 1: The student is correct.
Option 2: The student is incorrect.

Answer 1

The student is incorrect; although the speed is constant, the direction of velocity is changing, leading to a nonzero centripetal acceleration.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student who claims that his acceleration is zero because his speed is remaining constant while sitting on a spinning merry-go-round is incorrect. This is because while the speed (the magnitude of velocity) is constant, the direction of his velocity is continuously changing as the merry-go-round spins. In physics, acceleration is defined as the rate of change of velocity, which can involve changes in speed, direction, or both. Since the direction of the student's velocity is changing, he is undergoing centripetal (radial) acceleration, which is directed towards the center of the merry-go-round.