Centripetal acceleration acting on a parcel

In summary, centripetal acceleration is the acceleration experienced by an object moving in a circular path, always directed towards the center of the circle. It acts on a parcel by continuously changing its direction of motion towards the center, and is affected by the parcel's velocity, radius of the path, and mass. It cannot act on an object moving in a straight line. Centripetal acceleration is related to centripetal force through Newton's second law, F=ma, where the force is directed towards the center of the circle.
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cmcd
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Homework Statement



A parcel sits on a seat angled θ to the horizontal. The car is traveling along a local radius of curvature of 80m and is traveling 20m/s at the dip. For what value of theta will the parcel not slip?

Will someone check that my force diagram is correct?
Thanks,
cmcd

http://s1372.photobucket.com/user/cmcdona22/media/001_zps29188e8a.jpg.html
 
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[tex] \rho_0[/tex]
 
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[tex] \rho(h)=\rho_0\exp^-\frac{\rho_0g_ph}{p_0}[/tex]
 
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I can confirm that your force diagram appears to be correct. The centripetal force, represented by the vector Fc, is directed towards the center of the circular motion, while the weight of the parcel, represented by the vector mg, is directed downwards. The angle θ represents the angle between the seat and the horizontal, and it is important to note that the centripetal force must be equal to the weight in order for the parcel to not slip. Therefore, the equation to solve for θ would be Fc = mg, which can be rearranged to θ = tan^-1(v^2/rg), where v is the velocity (20 m/s) and r is the radius of curvature (80 m). Solving this equation gives a value of approximately 9.5 degrees for θ. Therefore, if the angle between the seat and the horizontal is less than 9.5 degrees, the parcel will not slip. I hope this helps.
 

FAQ: Centripetal acceleration acting on a parcel

What is centripetal acceleration?

Centripetal acceleration is the acceleration experienced by an object moving in a circular path. It is always directed towards the center of the circle and its magnitude is equal to v^2/r, where v is the velocity of the object and r is the radius of the circle.

How does centripetal acceleration act on a parcel?

Centripetal acceleration acts on a parcel by continuously changing its direction of motion towards the center of the circle. This allows the parcel to maintain its circular path without moving away from the center or flying off tangent.

What factors affect the magnitude of centripetal acceleration on a parcel?

The magnitude of centripetal acceleration on a parcel is affected by the parcel's velocity, the radius of the circular path, and the mass of the parcel. A higher velocity or a smaller radius will result in a larger centripetal acceleration, while a larger mass will result in a smaller centripetal acceleration.

Can centripetal acceleration act on an object moving in a straight line?

No, centripetal acceleration is specifically the acceleration experienced by an object moving in a circular path. If an object is moving in a straight line, it may experience other types of acceleration such as linear acceleration.

How is centripetal acceleration related to centripetal force?

Centripetal acceleration is directly related to centripetal force through Newton's second law of motion, F=ma. Centripetal force is the force that causes an object to experience centripetal acceleration and is always directed towards the center of the circular path.

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