Question

A Ferris wheel has a vertical height (from the bottom of the wheel to the top) of 10 m, and a rotates uniformly at the rate of 1 revolution every 11 s. At the moment that seat number 13 is 30o past the highest point on the wheel, a bolt fails and seat 13 becomes detached from the rest of the wheel. (Fortunately, this is a test run with no passengers.) Just before seat 13 detaches, compute (a) its velocity vector; (b) its acceleration vector. Just after the bolt fails, compute (c) the seat's velocity vector; (d) its acceleration vector. (e) Does it make sense for the velocity to change instantaneously? What about the acceleration?

Answer 1