Question

A 13561 N car traveling at 51.1 km/h rounds

a curve of radius 2.95 × 102 m.

The acceleration of gravity is 9.81 m/s

a) Find the centripetal acceleration of the

car. Answer in units of m/s


Find the force that maintains circular motion.

Answer in units of N.


c) Find the minimum coefficient of static friction between the tires and the road that will
allow the car to round the curve safely.

Answer 1

a) The centripetal acceleration of the car is 0.68 m/s²

b) The force that maintains circular motion is 940.03 N.

c) The minimum coefficient of static friction between the tires and the road is 0.069.

Step-by-step explanation:

a) The centripetal acceleration of the car can be found using the following equation:

`a_(c) = (v^(2))/(r)`

Where:

v: is the velocity of the car = 51.1 km/h

r: is the radius = 2.95x10² m

`a_(c) = ((51.1 (km)/(h)*(1000 m)/(1 km)*(1 h)/(3600 s))^(2))/(2.95 \cdot 10^(2) m) = 0.68 m/s^(2)`

Hence, the centripetal acceleration of the car is 0.68 m/s².

b) The force that maintains circular motion is the centripetal force:

`F_(c) = ma_(c)`

Where:

m: is the mass of the car

The mass is given by:

`P = m*g`

Where P is the weight of the car = 13561 N

`m = (P)/(g) = (13561 N)/(9.81 m/s^(2)) = 1382.4 kg`

Now, the centripetal force is:

`F_(c) = ma_(c) = 1382.4 kg*0.68 m/s^(2) = 940.03 N`

Then, the force that maintains circular motion is 940.03 N.

c) Since the centripetal force is equal to the coefficient of static friction, this can be calculated as follows:

`F_(c) = F_(\mu)`

`F_(c) = \mu N = \mu P`

`\mu = (F_(c))/(P) = (940.03 N)/(13561 N) = 0.069`

Therefore, the minimum coefficient of static friction between the tires and the road is 0.069.

I hope it helps you!