Home › AP Physics 1 › Physics › Uniform Circular Motion and Gravitation › For the car in the previous curve, taking g = 9.…
For the car in the previous curve, taking g = 9.80 m/s^2, how does the 1.25 m/s^2 centripetal acceleration compare with the acceleration due to gravity?
AIt is about 0.128 times g
BIt is about 1.28 times g
CIt is about 7.84 times g
DIt equals g exactly
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. It is about 0.128 times g
1. The ratio of the centripetal acceleration to the acceleration due to gravity is ac / g.
2. Substituting the known values, the ratio is 1.25 m/s^2 divided by 9.80 m/s^2.
3. That division gives approximately 0.128.
4. 1.28 times g misplaces a decimal point, 7.84 times g comes from dividing g by ac instead, and the two accelerations are clearly not equal.
_Source: OpenStax College Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 6 "Uniform Circular Motion and Gravitation", section 6.2 Centripetal Acceleration_
Related questions
The Moon stays in orbit around the Earth. Which force provides its centripetal force?Why does a centripetal force change a body's direction but never its speed?A stone is whirled on a string in a horizontal circle. What supplies the centripetal forceUnder what condition does an ellipse become a circle?Kepler's third law relates the squares of the periods to which quantity?What does the line from the Sun to a planet sweep out in equal times?What shape does each planet's orbit about the Sun take, and where does the Sun sit?Besides muscle wasting, what else do astronauts lose in microgravity?