In a roundabout (or traffic circle), cars go around a 24- m -diameter circle.

Question

In a roundabout (or traffic circle), cars go around a 24- m -diameter circle.

If a car's tires will skid when the car experiences a centripetal acceleration greater than 0.60g , what is the maximum speed of the car in this roundabout?

Answer 1

Solution:

The centripetal acceleration is the normal acceleration that will push the car out of the circle and make it skid

a_n = V²/ r where V is the speed of car that will keep the car from skidding out of the circle, a_n = 0.6 g = 0.6 ( 9.81 m/s²) = 5.87 m/s²

The radius of the circle r is 1/2 the diameter = 24 m /2 = 12m

equating 5.87 m/s² = V² / 12 m, V² = 12 m ( 5.87 m/s²) = 70.44 m²/s² and V = 8.39 m/s