Question

A roller coaster has a vertical loop with radius 25.7 m. With what minimum speed should the roller-coaster car be moving at the top of
the loop so that the passengers do not lose contact with the seats?
m/s

Answer 1

Answer:

15.88m/s

Explanation:

At the top of the roller coaster you will have three forces acting on the roller-coaster. See the image below. Fc is the centripetal force (for an object in circular motion), Fg is the gravitational force, and Fn is the normal force. To achieve the minimum speed we assume the roller-coaster is barely touching the vertical loop and so the normal force is zero. This leaves two acting forces.

$F_g = F_c\\mg = \frac{m\times v^2}{r}\\v = \sqrt{gr} = \sqrt{9.81 \times 25.7} = 15.88 m/s$