Question

Sharon the ant (Aaron’s sister) sits at the edge of a turntable of radius R that is spinning with period T. As she makes one-half of a full rotation on the turntable, what is the magnitude of the average acceleration experienced by Sharon the ant?

Answer 1

Answer:

$a = \dfrac{4\pi^2R}{T^2}$

Explanation:

The acceleration of a circular motion is given by

$a = \omega^2 R$

where $\omega$ is the angular velocity and $R$ is the radius.

Angular velocity is related to the period, T, by

$\omega=\dfrac{2\pi}{T}$

Substitute into the previous formula.

$a = (\dfrac{2\pi}{T})^2 R$

$a = \dfrac{4\pi^2R}{T^2}$

This acceleration does not depend on the linear or angular displacement. Hence, the amount of rotation does not change it.