Question

A race-car drives around a circular track of radius RRR. The race-car speeds around its first lap at linear speed v_iv i ​ v, start subscript, i, end subscript. Later, its speed increases to 4v_i4v i ​ 4, v, start subscript, i, end subscript. How does the magnitude of the car's centripetal acceleration change after the linear speed increases

Answer 1

Answer:

The magnitude of the centripetal acceleration increases by 16 times when the linear speed increases by 4 times.

Explanation:

The initial centripetal acceleration, a of the race-car around the circular track of radius , R with a linear speed v is a = v²/R.

When the linear speed of the race-car increases to v' = 4v, the centripetal acceleration a' becomes a' = v'²/R = (4v)²/R = 16v²/R.

So the centripetal acceleration, a' = 16v²/R.

To know how much the magnitude of the car's centripetal acceleration changes, we take the ratio a'/a = 16v²/R ÷ v²/R = 16

a'/a = 16

a' = 16a.

So the magnitude of the centripetal acceleration increases by 16 times when the linear speed increases by 4 times.