Question

A 44.6 kg ice skater is moving at 5.14 m/s when she grabs the loose end of a rope, the opposite end of which is tied to a pole. She then moves in a circle of radius 0.525 m around the pole. Find the force exerted by the rope on her arms. The acceleration of gravity is 9.8 m/s 2 . Answer in units of kN.

Answer 1

This question is asking the force on the rope. We can find this by using centripetal acceleration, then multiply by the ice skater's mass.

First we need to find the centripetal acceleration, which is a = v^2/r

We are given v and r, so we solve for a.

a = [(5.14m/s)^2]/(0.525m) = 50.323 m/s^2

Next multiply by the ice skater's mass (because F=ma) which is 44.6 kg

We then get F = (50.323m/s^2)(44.6kg) = 2244.407924N

Divide by 10^3 to get kN, we get:

2.244kN

Hope this helps!