Physics centripetal acceleration

Question

Heather drives her Super-Beetle around a turn on a banked circular track which has a radius of 200 m. The Super-Beetle has a mass of 1500 kg and Heather maintains a speed of 20 m/s around the turn. What centripetal force does the track exert on the Super-­Beetle?

Answer 1

Hi Mar A.,

First find the acceleration using a_R = v²/r, where v = 20 m/s and r = 200 m. I get a_R = 2 m/s².

Then the centripetal force is F_c = ma_R, with m = 1500 kg. I get F_c = 3000 N (kg m/s²).

I hope this helps, Joe.