Question

A race car entering the curved part of the track at the Daytona 500 drops its speed from 85.0 m/s to 80.0 m/s in 2.0 s. If the radius of the curved part of the track is 316.0 m, calculate the total acceleration of the race car at the beginning and ending of reduction of speed.

a) -2.5 m/s²
b) -1.0 m/s²
c) 0 m/s²
d) 1.5 m/s²

Answer 1

The total acceleration of the race car at the beginning and ending of the reduction of speed can be calculated using the formula for centripetal acceleration.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the total acceleration of the race car at the beginning and ending of the reduction of speed, we can use the formula for centripetal acceleration: a = v^2 / r. At the beginning, the speed of the car is 85.0 m/s and the radius of the curved part of the track is 316.0 m. So, the acceleration at the beginning is 85.0 m/s^2 / 316.0 m = 0.2696 m/s^2. At the ending, the speed of the car is 80.0 m/s and the radius is still 316.0 m. So, the acceleration at the ending is 80.0 m/s^2 / 316.0 m = 0.2532 m/s^2.