Question

A Ferris wheel with a radius of 9.2 m rotates at a constant rate, completing one revolution every 33 s .

Part A

Find the direction of a passenger's acceleration at the top of the wheel.

Find the direction of a passenger's acceleration at the top of the wheel.

downward

upward

Part B

Find the magnitude of a passenger's acceleration at the top of the wheel.

Express your answer using two significant figures.

a =

______

  m/s2  

Part C

Find the direction of a passenger's acceleration at the bottom of the wheel.

Find the direction of a passenger's acceleration at the bottom of the wheel.

downward

upward

Part D

Find the magnitude of a passenger's acceleration at the bottom of the wheel.

Express your answer using two significant figures.

a =

_______

  m/s2  

Answer 1

The person in the first response is a little confused. Acceleration is only due to motion. If the ferris wheel was stopped, the person would just be sitting there and their acceleration would be zero... not "g". So there's no reason to add "g" to anything here.

The wheel moves in circular motion with a speed of

2pi*r / t = (2pi x 9.2) / 33 = 1.752 m/s

The acceleration for any object moving in a circle is

a = v^2 / r

a = 1.752^2 / 9.2

a = 0.334 m/s^2

The direction is always toward the center of the circle,

a) downwards

b) 0.334 m/s^2

c) upwards

(d 0.334 m/s^