Question #77495
A piece of clay sits 0.65 m from the center of a potter’s Wheel. If the potter spins the wheel at a tangential velocity of 4.0 m/s, what is the magnitude of the centripetal acceleration of the piece of clay on the wheel?
Expert's answer
We can find the magnitude of the centripetal acceleration of the piece of clay on the wheel from the definition of the centripetal acceleration:
a_c=v^2/r,
here, a_c is the magnitude of the centripetal acceleration of the piece of clay on the wheel, v is the tangential velocity of the wheel and r is the distance of the piece of clay from the center of a potter’s wheel.
Then, from this formula we get:
a_c=v^2/r=(4.0 m/s)^2/(0.65 m)=24.6 m/s^2 .
a_c=v^2/r,
here, a_c is the magnitude of the centripetal acceleration of the piece of clay on the wheel, v is the tangential velocity of the wheel and r is the distance of the piece of clay from the center of a potter’s wheel.
Then, from this formula we get:
a_c=v^2/r=(4.0 m/s)^2/(0.65 m)=24.6 m/s^2 .
