Question

you take a ride on the conquistador, a giant boat-shaped swing, at six flags. at the very bottom of the swing, the normal force acting on you is twice your weight. the arc of the swing has a radius of 7.62 m. what is the speed of the conquistador at this point?

Answer 1

The resultant force acting on you at that point is equal to the centripetal force of the circular motion.

So F = 2W - W
F = W

Where F is the centripetal force and W is your weight.

F = (mv^2)/r

Where m is your mass and r is the radius of the circular motion.

Using the information you provided, we can sub in to the formula:

mg = mv^2/7.62
g = v^2/7.62

g is the acceleration on earth due to gravity at sea level, which has a value of 9.81 m/s^2 to 3.s.f.

Rearrange for v:

v^2 = 9.81 • 7.62
v = sqrt(74.7522)

v = 8.65 m/s (3.s.f)