A civil engineer wishes to redesign the curved roadway in the example What is the Maximum Speed of the Car? in such a way that a car will not have to rely on friction to round the curve without skidding. In other words, a car of mass m moving at the designated speed can negotiate the curve even when the road is covered with ice. Such a road is usually banked, which means that the roadway is tilted toward the inside of the curve. Suppose the designated speed for the road is to be v = 12.8 m/s (28.6 mi/h) and the radius of the curve is r = 37.0 m. At what angle should the curve be banked?

24.3 degrees

Explanation:

A car traveling in circular motion at linear speed v = 12.8 m/s around a circle of radius r = 37 m is subjected to a centripetal acceleration:

Let α be the banked angle, as α > 0, the outward centripetal acceleration vector is split into 2 components, 1 parallel and the other perpendicular to the road. The one that is parallel has a magnitude of 4.43cosα and is the one that would make the car slip.

Similarly, gravitational acceleration g is split into 2 component, one parallel and the other perpendicular to the road surface. The one that is parallel has a magnitude of gsinα and is the one that keeps the car from slipping outward.

So

gpe = mass x gravity constant x height or… gpe = mgh

where… mass: measured in kilograms (kg)

gravity: gravity constant on earth = 10.00 m/s2

height: measured in meters (m)

gpe: measured in joules (j) or kilojoules (kj)

how do you solve gpe?

gravitational potential energy (gpe) is the energy an object has because of its position above the. ground.

gpe = mass x gravity constant x height or… gpe = mgh.

mass:

note: to earn full marks when solving science word problems, you must show your work:

formula.

example:

given values:

mass = 0.3 kg.