Answer to Question #246781 in Physics for Trey

Question

On a normal day in the summer you can drive your 1050 kg car at a constant speed around

a corner whose radius of curvature is 12m without problems. The engineering staff at

CalTrans have determined that the maximum frictional force between your tires and the

road is 8100N under these circumstances.

A few days later it rains and the frictional force is now 10% of what it was

when dry. What is the minimum radius of the corner you make when traveling at the

speed from part b now? (Assume that speed is 11.0 m/s if needed.)

Answer 1

Find the new force in wet conditions:

$$f=0.1F=810\text{ N}.$$

The radius that corresponds to this force is

$$R=\frac{mv^2}f=157\text{ m}.$$