I have a physics problem and we just started learning about this. A wheel with a radius 1.5m rotates at uniform speed. If a point on the rim of the wheel has centripetal acceleration of 1.2(m/s^2), what is the point's tangential speed.
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The centripetal acceleration of a rotating point is given by
a=v²/r
Where a is the centripetal acceleration, v is the tangential speed, and r is the radius of the curve the object is moving on. So all we have to do to find v is rearrange the equation to isolate v.
a=v²/r
v²=a*r
v=SQRT(a*r)
=SQRT(1.2*1.5)
=1.34 m/s
Cheers.
a=v²/r
Where a is the centripetal acceleration, v is the tangential speed, and r is the radius of the curve the object is moving on. So all we have to do to find v is rearrange the equation to isolate v.
a=v²/r
v²=a*r
v=SQRT(a*r)
=SQRT(1.2*1.5)
=1.34 m/s
Cheers.