Question

The Gravitron ride at the local fair is a saucer-shaped ride that spins in a circle at high speeds.

a.) If the passengers are seated 4 meters from the center of the ride, and the ride rotates at an angular velocity of 2.5 radians per second, what is the centripetal acceleration experienced by the passengers?

b.) If the operator is seated at the center of the ride, and the ride rotates at an angular velocity of 2.5 radians per second, what is the centripetal acceleration experienced by the operator?

Answer 1

Answer 2

a) The centripetal acceleration experienced by the passengers can be found using the formula:

a = r * ω^2

where r is the distance of the passengers from the center of the ride and ω is the angular velocity of the ride.

Substituting the given values, we get:

a = 4 m * (2.5 rad/s)^2 a = 25 m/s^2

Therefore, the centripetal acceleration experienced by the passengers is 25 m/s^2.

b) The centripetal acceleration experienced by the operator at the center of the ride is zero because there is no distance between the operator and the center of the ride. The formula for centripetal acceleration involves the distance between the object and the center of rotation, so in this case, the distance is zero, resulting in a centripetal acceleration of zero.