Question

Problem Statement

A 50 kg boy is sitting in a roller coaster car that at one point along the track goes in a vertical circular loop of radius 25 m. At the top of the loop the roller coaster’s speed is 20 m/s. What is the normal force on the boy from the seat?

Visual Representation

• Draw a sketch of the problem

• Identify “the system” by circling the object of interest

• Establish a coordinate system and define symbols

• Draw a motion diagram for “the system” and determine

• Make a free-body diagram showing all the forces acting on “the system”

• List knowns and desired unknowns

Mathematical Representation

• Write down Newton’s second law in component form

• Use the free-body diagram to obtain the force components for Newton’s laws

• Solve equation(s) for the desired unknown

• Substitute in the known values, including units, and calculate unknown value

• Check units and assess if your answer is reasonable

Answer 1

The solution is given below.

Thank you.