A model train with a mass of $7 kg$ is moving along a track at $15 (cm)/s$ . If the curvature of the track changes from a radius of $24 cm$ to $45 cm$ , by how much must the centripetal force applied by the tracks change?

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Answer 1 · 2017-07-17T02:51:03

0.31N

First calculate the Centripetal Force for one of the situations, in this case I will calculate the force required for the 24cm track first.

At this stage you should convert your quantities to standards units, eg meters and meters per second.

So
$24$ cm = $0.24$ m
$45$ cm = $0.45$ m
$15$ cm/s = $0.15$ m/s

Then use the formula:
$F_c = (mv^2)/r$

And substitute the given values:
$F_c = ((7 kg)(0.15m s^-1)^2)/(0.24 m) = 0.656 N$
$F_c = ((7 kg)(0.15m s^-1)^2)/(0.45 m) = 0.350 N$

Now find the difference between the two forces:
$0.656N - 0.350N = 0.31N$

A model train with a mass of 7 kg7 kg is moving along a track at 15 (cm)/s15 (cm)/s. If the curvature of the track changes from a radius of 24 cm24 cm to 45 cm45 cm, by how much must the centripetal force applied by the tracks change?