Question

Desperado, a roller coaster built in Nevada, has a mass of 800 kg. It also has a vertical drop of 225 feet down the first hill. The roller coaster is designed so that the speed of the cars at the end of this drop is 80 mi/h. Assume the cars are at rest at the start of the drop. How much work is done by friction on the car as it drops down the hill

Answer 1

Answer:

the work done by friction on the car is 524,582 J.

Explanation:

Given;

mass of the roller coaster, m = 800 kg

distance moved by the coaster, d = 225 ft = 68.58 m

final velocity of the coaster, v = 80 mi/h = 35.76 m/s

The time taken for the coaster to drop down the hill is calculated as;

$t = \sqrt{\frac{2h}{g} } \\\\t = \sqrt{\frac{2\ \times \ 68.58}{9.8} } \\\\t = 3.74 \ s$

The work done by friction on the car is calculated as;

$W =F\ \times \ d = \frac{mv}{t} \times \ d\\\\W = \frac{800 \ \times \ 35.76 }{3.74} \times \ 68.58\\\\W = 524,582 \ J$

Therefore, the work done by friction on the car is 524,582 J.