- #1
Fleet
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Homework Statement
I have to find the mass m of a person riding a ferris wheel sitting on a bath scale.
Given data:
R=16 m
Scale reading on top of ferris wheel = 510 N
Scale reading at bottom of the ferris wheel= 666 N
Homework Equations
[itex]F=ma[/itex]
For uniform circular motion we have:
[itex]a_{rad}=\frac{v^2}{R}[/itex]
The Attempt at a Solution
I know that three forces are acting on the person on both top and bottom of the wheel:
gravity Fg, the normal force Fn and the centripetal acceleration.
The reason that I'm stuck is that I can't understand this:
What is the resulting force? the centripetal acceleration?
I have read that the normal force in this situation is bigger at the bottom that on the top? Why is that?
If I answer these questions I can use Newtons 2nd law.
Thanks.