Question

1. A cyclist is riding on a road, at a uniform speed of 5 m/s for 2 hours. What is his acceleration?

Answer 1

Answer on Question#38461 – Physics - Mechanics

A cyclist is riding on a road, at a uniform speed of 5 m/s for 2 hours. What is his acceleration?

Solution:

$$v = 5 \frac{m}{s} - \text{uniform speed of the cyclist}.$$ $$t = 2 \text{ hour} = 7200 \text{s} - \text{time}.$$

Travelled distance:

$$S = v \cdot t = 2\pi R$$ $$R = \frac{vt}{2\pi}$$

From the definition of the centripetal acceleration, thus:

$$a_c = \frac{v^2}{R} = \frac{2\pi v^2}{vt} = \frac{2\pi v}{t} = \frac{2\pi \cdot 5 \frac{m}{s}}{7200 \text{s}} = 0.004 \frac{m}{s^2}$$

Answer: centripetal acceleration is equal to $0.004 \frac{m}{s^2}$.