Question

A car of mass m, traveling at constant speed, rides over the top of a round hill. How do the normal force of the road on the car and the gravitational force of the Earth on the car compare at this point?A. N > mg B. N < mg C. N = mg

Answer 1

Answer:

The normal force will be lower than the gravitational force acting on the car. Therefore the answer is N < mg, which is option B.

Explanation:

Over a round hill, the centripetal force acting toward the the radius of the hill supports the gravitational force (mg) of the car. This notion can be expressed mathematically as follows:

At the top of a round hill

$Normal force = Gravitational force - centripetal force$

At the foot of a round hill

$Normal Force = centripetal force + Gravitational force$